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i 



Hygienic Physiology, 



WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO THE USE OF 



ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND NARCOTICS. 



ADAPTED FROM THE 



FOURTEEN WEEKS IN HUMAN PHYSIOLOGY," 



JOEL DORMAN STEELE, PH.D. 



/"- 



Edited and Endorsed for the use of Schools (in accordance with the recent 
Legislation upon this subject ) by the Department of Scientific Temper- 
ance Instruction of the W. C. T. U. of the United States, 
under the direction of Mrs. Mary H. Hunt^ Supt. 



{ 



A. S. BARNES & COMPANY, 



NEW YORK AND CHICAGO. 



THE FOURTEEN-WEEKS SERIES ^c^^"^"^ 



IN 



NATURAL SCIENCE, 



BY 



J. DORM AN STEELE, Ph.D., F.G.S. 

New Physics. 

New Chemistry. 

New Descriptive Astronomy. 
Popular Geology. 

Human Physiology. 
Zoology. 
Botany. 
A Key, containing Answers to the Questions and Problems in Steele'i 
14- Weeks Series. 



AN HISTORICAL SERIES, 

ON THE PLAN OF StEELE'S I4-WEEKS IN THE SCIENCES. 

A Brief History of the United States. 

A Brief History of France. 

A Brief History of Ancient Peoples. 

A Brief History of Mediaeval and Modern Peoples. 

A Brief General History. 

A Brief History of Greece. 

A Brief History of England. (In preparation.) 

A Popular History of the United States. 

Copyright, 1884, by A. S. BARNES & CO. 



xt? 



PREFACE. 



THE term Physiology, or the science of the 
functions of the body, has come to include 
Anatomy, or the science of its structure, and 
Hygiene, or the laws of health ; the one being 
essential to the proper understanding of physiol- 
ogy, and the other being its practical application 
to life. The three are intimately blended, and in 
treating of the different subjects the author has 
drawn no line of distinction where nature has 
made none. This work is not prepared for the use 
of medical students, but for the instruction of youth 
in the principles which underlie the preservation of 
health and the formation of correct physical habits. 
All else is made subservient to this practical knowl- 
edge. A simple scientific dress is used which, while 
conducing to clearness, also gratifies that general 
desire of children to know something of the nomen- 
clature of any study they pursue. 



VI PREFACE. 

To the description of each organ is appended an 
account of its most common diseases, accidents, 
etc., and, when practicable, their mode of treat- 
ment. A pupil may thus learn, for example, the 
cause and cure of a cold, the management of a 
wound, or the nature of an inflammation. 

The Practical Questions, which have been a prom- 
inent feature of the series, will be found, it is hoped, 
equally useful in this work. Directions for prepar- 
ing simple microscopic objects, and illustrations of 
the different organs, are given under each subject. 

In the Appendix will be found Questions for class 
use, Hints about the sick-room. Suggestions as to 
what to do ''till the doctor comes," Antidotes for 
poisons, and a full Index. 

Believing in a Divine Architect of the human 
form, the author cannot refrain from occasionally 
pointing out His inimitable workmanship, and im- 
pressing the lesson of a Great Final Cause. 

The author has gleaned from every field, at home 
and abroad, to secure that which would interest and 
profit his pupils. In general, Flint's great work on 
the Physiology of Man, an undisputed authority on 
both sides of the Atlantic, has been adopted as the 
standard in digestion, respiration, circulation, and 
the nervous system. Leidy's Human Anatomy, and 
Sappey's Traite d' Anatomic have been followed on 
all anatomical questions, and have furnished many 
beautiful drawings. Huxley's Physiology has af- 



PREFACE. VU 

forded exceedingly valuable aid. Foster's Text- 
Book of Physiology, Hinton's delightful work on 
Health and its Conditions, Black's valuable Ten 
Laws of Health, Williams's practical essay on Our 
Eyes and How to Use them, Le Pileur's charming 
treatise on The Wonders of the Human Body, and 
that quaint volume, Odd Hours of a Physician, have 
aided the author with facts and fancies. The writ- 
ings of Draper, Dalton, Carpenter, Valentine, Ma- 
pother, Watson, Lankester, Letheby, Hall, Hamil- 
ton, Bell, Wilson, Bower, Cutter, Hutchison, Wood, 
Bigelow, Stille, Holmes, Beigel and others have been 
freely consulted. 



READING REFERENCES 



Foster's Text-book of Physiology. — Leidy's Human Anatomy. — Draper's Human 
Physiologj\— Dalton's Physiology and Hygiene.— Cutter's Physiology.— Johnston 
& Church's Chemistry of Common Life. — Letheby's Food. — Tyndall on Light, and 
on Sound.— Flint's Physiology of Man.— Rosenthal's Physiology of the Muscles and 
Nerves.— Bernstein's Five Senses of Man. — Huxley & Youmans's Physiology & 
Hygiene.— Sappey's Traite d'Anatomie.— Luys's Brain and its Functions.— Smith's 
Foods.— Bain's Mind and Body.— Pettigrew's Animal Locomotion. — Carpenter's 
Mental Physiology.— Wilder and Gage's Anatomy. 

Hargreave's Alcohol and Science.— Richardson's Ten Lectures on Alcohol, and 
Diseases of Modern Life. — Brown's Alcohol.— Davis's Intemperance and Crime.— 
Pitman's Alcohol and the State.— Anti-Tobacco.— Howie's Stimulants and Narcotics. 
—Hunt's Alcohol as Food or Medicine.— Schiitzenberger's Fermentation. 



SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 



SEEING is believing, — more than that, it is 
often knowing and remembering. The mere 
reading of a statement is of little value compared 
with the observation of a fact. Every opportunity 
should therefore be taken of exhibiting to the pupil 
the phenomena described, and thus making them 
real. A microscope is so essential to the under- 
standing of many subjects, that it is indispensable 
to the proper teaching of Physiology. A suitable 
instrument and carefully prepared specimens show- 
ing the structure of the bones, the skin, and the 
blood of various animals, the pigment cells of the 
eye, etc., may be obtained at a small cost from the 
Publishers of this book. 

On naming the subject of a paragraph, the pupil 
should be prepared to tell all he knows about it. 
No failure should discourage the teacher in estab- 
lishing this mode of study and recitation. A little 
practice will produce the most satisfactory results. 



X SUGGESTIONS TO TEACHERS. 

The unexpected question and the apt reply develop 
a certain sharpness and readiness which are worthy 
of cultivation. The questions for review, or any 
others that the wit of the teacher may suggest, can 
be effectively used to break the monotony of a 
topical recitation, thereby securing the benefits of 
both systems. 

The pupil should expect to be questioned each day 
upon any subject passed over during the term, and 
thus the entire knowledge gained will be within his 
grasp for instant use. While some are reciting to 
the teacher, let others write on slates or on the 
blackboard. At the close of the recitation let all 
criticise the ideas, the spelling, the use of capitals, 
the pronunciation, the grammar, and the mode of 
expression. Greater accuracy and much collateral 
drill may thus be secured at little expense of valu- 
able school-time. 

The Introduction is designed merely to furnish 
suggestive material for the first lesson, preparatory 
to beginning the study. Other topics may be found 
in the questions given in the Appendix. In this 
same connection read also the Conclusion. 



TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PAGE 

INTRODUCTION 1 

I. 
THE SKELE TON 5 

I I. 
THE MUSCIES 25 

III. 
THE SKIN 47 

I V. 
RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE 71 

V. 
THE CIRCULA TION 99 

VI. 
DIGESTION AND FOOD 137 

V I I. 
THE NERVOUS SYSTEM 175 



XU TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

VIII. 

PAG» 

THE SPECIAL SENSES. 209 

1. TOUCH. 209 

2. TASTE 213 

3. SMELL 214 

4. HEARING 216 

5. SIGHT. 219 

IX. 
CONCL USION 231 

X. 

APPENDIX 235 

1. HINTS ABOUT THE SICK-ROOM 237 

2. DISINFECTANTS. ■ ■ : 238 

3. WHAT TO DO ''TILL THE DOCTOR COMES"" 238 

^.ANTIDOTES TO POISONS 244 

5. QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE 246 

6. INDEX. 265 



INTRODUCTION 



PHYSIOLOGICAL STUDY in youth is of in- 
estimable value. Precious lives are frequently 
lost througli ignorance. Thousands squander 
in early years the strength which should have been kept 
for the work of real life. Habits are often formed in 
youth which entail weakness and poverty upon manhood, 
and are a cause of life-long regret. The use of a strained 
limb may permanently damage it. Some silly feat of 
strength may produce an irreparable injury. A thought- 
less hour of reading by twilight may impair the sight for 
life. A terrible accident may happen, and a dear friend 
perish before our eyes, while we stand by powerless to 
render the assistance we could so easily give did we '■ only 
know what to do." The thousand little hints which may 
save or lengthen life, may repel or abate disease, and the 
simple laws which regulate our bodily vigor, should be so 
familiar that we may be quick to apply them in an emer- 
gency. The preservation of health is easier than the cure 
of disease. Childhood cannot afford to wait for the les- 
son of experience which is learned only when the penalty 
of violated law has been already incurred, and health 
irrevocably lost. 

Nature's Laws Inviolable. — In infancy, we learn 
how terribly Nature punishes a violation of certain laws, 
and how promptly she applies the penalty. We soon find 
out the peril of fire, falls, edged-tools, and the like. We 
fail, however, to notice the equally sharp and certain 



2 INTEODUCTION. 

punishments which bad habits entail. We are quick to 
feel the need of food, but not so ready to perceiye the 
danger of an excess. A lack of air drives us at once to 
secure a supply ; but foul air is as fatal, yet gives us no 
warning. 

Nature provides a little training for us at the outset of 
hfe, but leaves the most for us to learn by bitter expe- 
rience. So in youth we throw away our strength as if it 
were a burden of which we desired to be rid. We eat 
anything, and at any time ; do anything we please, and 
sit up any number of nights with little or no sleep. Be- 
cause we feel only a momentary discomfort from these 
physical sins, we fondly imagine when that is gone we are 
all right again. Our drafts upon our constitution are 
promptly paid, and we expect this will always be the case; 
but some day they will come back to us protested; Nature 
will refuse to meet our demands, and we shall find our- 
selves physical bankrupts. 

We are furnished in the beginning with a certain vital 
force upon which we may draw. We can be spendthrifts 
and waste it in youth, or be wise and so husband it to 
manhood. Our shortcomings are all charged against this 
stock. Nature's memory never fails : she keeps her ac- 
count with perfect exactness. Every physical sin sub- 
tracts fi'om the sum and strength of our years. We may 
cure a disease, but it never leaves us as it found us. We 
may heal a wound, but the scar still shows. We reap as 
we sow, and we may either gather in the thorns, one by 
one, to torment and destroy, or rejoice in the happy har- 
vest of a hale old age. 



THE SKELETON. 



** Not in the World of Light alone ^ 
Where God has built His blazing throne, 
Nor yet alone on earth below. 
With belted seas that come and go, 
And endless isles of stmlit green 
Is all thy Maker's glory seen — 
Look in iipon thy zvondrous frame, 
Eternal wisdom still the same /" 

Holmes. 



J^N^-A.LYSIS aw THE SKELEXOJS^. 



Note.— The following Table of 208 bones is exclusive of the 8 sesamoid bones 
which occur in pairs^ at the roots of the thumb and great toe, making 214 as 
Gray omits the bones of the ear, and names 200 as 



given by Leidy, and Draper 
the total number. 



Q 



1. Cranium 

(8 bones). 



. Face 

(i4 bones.) 



3. Ears . . . . 
[ (6 bones.) 



f Frontal bone (forehead). 
1 Two Parietal bones. 

ITwo Temporal (temple) bones. 
Sphenoid bone. 
Ethmoid (sieve-like bone at root of nose). 
Occipital bone (back and base of skull). 

Two Superior Maxillary (upper jaw) bones. 

Inferior Maxillary (lower jaw) bone. 

Two Malar (cheek) bones. 

Two Lachrymal bones. 

Two Turbinated (scroll-like) bones, each side 
I of nose. 

I Two Nasal bones (bridge of nose). 
I Vomer (the bone between the nostrils). 
( Two Palate bones. 

f Hammer. 
-j Anvil, 
t Stirrup. 



O 

m 






C Cervical Vertebrae (seven vertebrae of the neck). 

1. Spinal Column ] Dorsal Vertebrae (twelve vertebrae of the back). 

1^ Lumbar Vertebrae (five vertebrae of the loins). 



2. Ribs 



True Ribs. 
False Ribs. 



3. Sternum (breast-bone). 

4. Os Htoedes (bone at the root of tongue). 



L 5. Pelvis. 



Two Linominata. 

Sacrum. 
Coccvx. 



C Shoulder 



32 

pq 

S8 


f 1. Upper Limbs. 
(64 bones.) 




B 


2. Lower Limbs. 

I (60 bones.) 



Arm. 



\ Clavicle. 
) Scapula. 



( Humerus. 

) L'lna and Radius. 



( Eight Wrist or Carpal bones. 
- nand < Five Metacarpal bones. 



Leg.. 



Foot. 



Phalanges (14 bones). 

( Femur. 
-{ Patella. 
( Tibia and Fibula. 

i Seven Tarsal bones. 
Five Metatarsal bones. 
Phalanges (14 bones). 



Form, Struc- 
ture, etc. OF 
THE Bones. 



j 2. Classification 
( OF THE Bones, 



f 1. Uses. 
! 2. Composition. 
J 3. Structure. 
I 4. Growth. 
I 5. Repair. 
L 6. The Joints. 



1. The Head. 
The Trunk. 
The Limbs. 



II 



THE SKELETON, 



1. FORM, STRUCTURE, ETC., OF THE BONES. 

THE Skeleton, or framework, of the ''House we 
live in," is composed of about 200 bones.* 

Uses and Fonns of the Bones. — They have three 
principal uses : 1. To protect the delicate organs ; f 
2. To serve as levers on which the muscles may act 
to produce motion ; and 3. To preserve the shape of 
the body. 

Bones differ in form according to the uses they 
subserve. For convenience in walking, some are 
long ; for strength and compactness, some are short 
and thick ; for covering a cavity, some are flat ; and 
for special purposes, some are irregular. The gen- 
eral form is such as to combine strength and light- 
ness. For example, all the long bones of the limbs 
are round and hollow, thus giving with the same 

* The precise number varies in different periods of life. Several which are sep- 
arated in youth become united in old age. Thus five of the " false vertebras." at the 
base of the spine early join in one great bone— the sacrum ; while four tiny ones 
below it often run into a bony mass— the coccyx (Fig. 6) ; in the child, the sternum 
is composed of eight pieces, while in the adult it consists of only three. While, 
however, the number of the bones is uncertain, their relative length is so exact that 
the length of the entire skeleton, and thence the height of the man, can be obtained 
by measuring a single one of the principal bones. Fossil bones and those found at 
Pompeii have the same proportion as our own. 

t An organ is a portion of the body designed for a particular use, called its func- 
tion. Thus the heart circulates the blood ; the liver produces the bile. 



6 THE SKELETON. 

weight a greater strength,* and also a larger surface 
for the attachment of the muscles. 

The Composition of the Bones at maturity is 
about one part animal to two parts mineral matter. 
The proportion varies with the age. In youth it is 
nearly half and half, while in old age the mineral is 
greatly in excess. By soaking a bone in weak muri- 
atic acid, and thus dissolving the mineral matter, its 
shape will not change, but its stiffness will disap- 
pear, leaving a tough, gristly substance f (cartilage), 
which can be bent like rubber. 

If the bone be burned in the fire, thus consuming 
the animal matter, the shape will still be the same, 
but it will have lost its tenacity, and the beautiful, 
pure-white residue^ may be crumbled into powder 
with the fingers. 

We thus see that a bone receives hardness and 
rigidity from its mineral, and tenacity and elastic- 
ity from its animal matter. 

* Cut a sheet of foolscap in two pieces. Roll one-half into a compact cylinder, 
and fold the other into a close, flat strip : support the ends of each, and hang 
weights iu the middle until they bend. The superior strength of the roll will aston- 
ish one unfamiliar with this mechanical principle. In a rod, the particles break in 
succession, fixst those on the outside, and later those in the center. In a tube, the 
particles are all arranged where they resist the first strain. Iron pillars are there- 
fore cast hollow. Stalks of grass and grain are so light as to hend before a breath 
of wind, yet are stiff enough to sustain their load of seed. 

t Mix a wineglass of muriatic acid with a pint of water, and place in it a sheep's 
rib. In a day or two. it will be so soft that it can be tied into a knot. In the same 
way, an egg may be made so pliable that it can be crowded into a narrow-necked 
bottle, within which it will expand, and become an object of great curiosity to the 
uninitiated. By boiling bones at a high temperature, the animal matter separates in 
the form of gelatin. Dogs and cats extract the animal matter from the bones they 
eat. Fossil bones deposited in the ground during the Geologic period, were found 
by Cuvier to contain considerable animal matter. Gelatin was actually extracted 
from the Cambridge mastodon, and made into glue. A tolerably nutritious food 
might thus be manufactured from bones older than man himself. 

t From bones thus calcined, the phosphorus of the chemist is made. See Chem- 
istry, page 120. If the animal matter be not consumed, but only charred, the bone 
will be black and brittle. In this way, the " bone-black " of commerce is manu- 
factured. 



THE STRtrCTUHE OF THE BONES. 



The entire bone is at first composed ^^^- ^' 

of cartilage, which gradually ossifies (^B% 

or turns to bone.* Certain portions 
near the joints are long delayed in this 
process, and by their elasticity assist 
in breaking the shock of a fall, f Hence 
the bones of children are tough, are 
not readily fractured, and when broken 
easily heal again ;| while those of elder- 
ly people are liable to fracture, and do 
not quickly unite. 

The Structure of the Bones. — When 
a bone is sawed lengthwise, it is found 
to be a compact shell filled with a 
spongy substance. This filling increases 
in quantity, and becomes more porous 

* " The ossification of the bones on the sides and upper 
part of the skull, for example, begins by a rounded spot in 
the middle of each one. From this spot the ossification ex- 
tends outward in every direction, thus gradually approaching 
the edges of the bone. When two adjacent bones meet, there 
will be a line where their edges are in contact with each 
other, but have not yet united ; but when more than two ^k^^^^^^-'-^kl^fk!^ 

bones meet in this way, there will be an empty space between 2%g thigh-bone, or 
them at their point of junction. Thus, if you lay down three femur sawed 

coins upon the table with their edges touching one another, lengthwise. 

there will be a three-sided space in the middle between them ; 

if you lay down four coins in the same manner, the space between them 
will be four-sided. Now at the back part of the head there is a spot where 
three bones come together in this way, leaving a small, three-sided opening 
between them : this is called the " posterior fontanelle." On the top of the head 
four bones come together, leaving between them a large, four-sided opening : this is 
called the "anterior fontanelle." These openings are termed the fontanelles, 
because we can feel the pulsations of the brain through them, like the bubbling 
of water in a fountain. The fontanelles gradually diminish in size, owing to the 
growth of the bony parts around them, and are completely closed at the age of four 
years after birth."— Da/to/i's Physiology, p. 361. 

t Frogs and toads, which move by jumping, and consequently receive so many 
jars, retain these unossified portions (epiphyses) nearly through life ; while alligators 
and turtles, whose position is sprawling, and whose motions are measured, do not 
have them at all.— Leidy. 

X This is only one of the many illustrations of the Infinite care that watches over 
helpless infancy, until knowledge and ability are acquired to meet the perils of life. 



8 



THE SKELETON. 



at the ends of the bone, thus giving greater size to 
form a strong joint, while the solid portion increases 
near the middle, where strength alone is needed. 
Each fiber of this bulky material diminishes the 
shock of a sudden blow, and also acts as a beam to 




A thin slice of bone, highly magnified, showing the lacunae, the tiny tubes (canal- 
iculi) radiating from them, and four Haversian canals, three seen crossvnse and one 
lengthwise. 

brace the exterior wall. The recumbent position of 
the alligator protects him from falls, and therefore 
his bones contain very little spongy substance. 

In the body, bones are not the dry, dead, blanched 
things they commonly seem to be, but are moist, 
living, pinkish structures, covered with a tough 
membrane called the per-i-os'-te-um,* {peri, around, 



* The relations of the periosteum to the bone are very interesting. Instances are 
on record where the bone has been removed, leaving the periosteam, from which 
the entire bone was afterward renewed. 



GROWTH OF THE BONES. 9 

and osteon, a bone), while the hollow is filled 
with marrow, rich in fat, and full of blood-vessels. 
If we examine a thin slice with the microscope, 
we shall see black spots with lines running in all 
directions, and looking very like minute insects. 
These are really little cavities called la-cu-nce,^ 
from which radiate tiny tubes. The lacunae are 
arranged in circles around larger tubes, termed 
from their discoverer. Haversian canals, which serve 
as passages for the blood-vessels that nourish the 
bone. 

Growth of the Bones. — By means of this system 
of canals, the blood circulates as freely through the 
bones as through a.ny part of the body. The whole 
structure is constantly but slowly changing, f old 
material being taken out and new put in. A curi- 
ous illustration is seen in the fact that if madder 
be mixed with the food of pigs, it will tinge their 
bones red. 

Repair of the Bones. — When a bone is broken, the 
blood at once oozes out of the fractured ends. This 
soon gives place to a watery fluid, which in a fort- 
night thickens to a gristly substance strong enough 
to hold them in place. Bone-matter is then slowly 
deposited, which in five or six weeks will unite the 
broken parts. Nature, at first, apparently endeavors 
to remedy the weakness of the material by excess in 
the quantity, and so the new portion is larger than 
the old. But the extra matter will be gradually 

* When the bone is dry, the lacunae are filled with air, which refracts the light, so 
that none of it reaches the eye, and hence the cavities appear black. 

+ Bone is sometimes produced with surprising rapidity. The great Irish Elk is 
calculated by Prof. Owen to have cast off and renewed annually in its antlers eighty 
pounds of bone. 



10 THE SKELETON. 

absorbed, sometimes so perfectly as to leave no trace 
of the injury. 

A broken limb should always be held in place 
by splints to enable this process to go on uninter- 
ruptedly, and also lest a sudden jar might rupture 
the partially -mended break. For a long time, the 
new portion consists largely of animal matter, and 
so is tender and pliable. The utmost care is there- 
fore necessary to prevent a malformation. 

The Joints are packed with a soft, smooth carti- 
lage, or gristle, which fits so perfectly as often to be 
air-tight. Upon convex surfaces, it is thickest at the 
middle, and upon concave surfaces, it is thickest at 
the edge, or where the wear is greatest. In addi- 
tion, the ends of the bones are covered with a thin 
membrane, the synovial (sun, with ; ovum, an egg), 
which secretes a viscid fluid, not unlike the white of 
an Qgg. This lubricates the joints, and prevents the 
noise and wear of friction. The body is the only 
machine that oils itself. 

The bones which form the joint are tied with stout 
ligaments {ligo, I bind), or bands, of a smooth, silvery 
white tissue,* so strong that the bones are sometimes 
broken without injuring the fastenings. 



* The general term tissue is applied to the various textures of which the organs 
are composed. For example, the osseoas tissue forms the bones ; the fibrous tissue, 
the skin, tendons, and ligaments. 



THE HEAD. 



11 



II. CLASSIFICATION OF THE BONES. 

For convenience, the bones of the skeleton are 
considered in three divisions : the head, the trunk, 
and the limbs. 

1. THE HEAD. 

Fiff. h. 




The Skull. — J, frontal hone ; 2, parietal bone ; 3, temporal bone ; A, the sphenoid 
bone; 5, ethmoid bone; 6, superior maxillary (upper jaw) bone; 7, malar bone; 
8, lachrymal bone ; 9, nasal bone ; 10, inferior maxillary {lower jaw) bone. 



The Bones of the Skull and the Face form a 
cavity for the protection of the brain and the four 
organs of sense, viz. : sight, smell, taste, and hear- 
ing. All of these bones are immovable except the 



12 THE SKELETON. 

lower jaw, which is hinged* at the back so as to 
allow for the opening and shutting of the mouth. 

The Skull is composed, in general, of two compact 
plates, with a spongy layer between. These are in 
several pieces, the outer ones being joined by notched 
edges (sutures, sut'yurs) in the way carpenters term 
dove-tailing. (See Fig. 4.) 

The peculiar structure and form of the skull afford 
a perfect shelter for the brain — an organ so delicate 
that, if unprotected, an ordinary blow would destroy 
it. Its oval or egg shape adapts it to resist pressure. 
The smaller and stronger end is in front, where the 
danger is greatest. Projections before and behind 
shield the less protected parts. The hard plates are 
not easy to penetrate, f The spongy packing deadens 
every blow. I The separate pieces with their curious 
joinings disperse any jar which one may receive, and 
also prevent fractures from spreading. 

The frequent openings in this strong bone-box 
afford safe avenues for the passage of numerous 
nerves and vessels which communicate between the 
brain and the rest of the body. 

* A ring of cartilage is inserted in its joints, something after the manner of a 
washer in machinery. This follows the movements of the jaw, and admits of freer 
motion, while it guards against dislocation. 

+ Instances have been known where bullets striking against the skull have 
glanced oflF, been flattened, or even split into halves. In the Peninsular Campaign, 
the author saw a man who had been struck in the forehead by a bullet which, 
instead of penetrating the brain, had followed the skull around to the back of the 
head, and there passed out. 

t An experiment resembling the familiar one of the balls in 
Fig. 5. Natural Philosophy (Steele's Fhijsics, Fig. 7, p. 30), beautifully 

illustrates this point. Several balls of ivory are suspended by 
cords, as in Fig. 5. If A be raised and then let fall, it will transmit 
the force to B, and that to C, and so on until F is reached, which 
will fly ofi" with the impulse. If now a baU of spongy bone be 
substituted for an ivory one anywhere in the line, the force will 
be checked, and the last ball will not stir. 




THE SPINAL COLUMN. 



13 



THE TRUNK. 



The Trunk has two important cav- 
ities. The upper part, or chest, con- 
tains the heart and the lungs, and 
the- lower part, or abdomen, holds the 
stomach, liver, kidneys, and other or- 
gans (Fig. 31). The principal bones 
are those of the spine, the ribs, and 
the hips. 

The Spine consists of twenty-four 
bones, between which are placed pads 
of cartilage.* A canal is hollowed 
out of the column for the safe pas- 
sage of the spinal cord. (See Fig. 50.) 
Projections (processes) at the back 
and on either side are abundant for 
the attachment of the muscles. The 
packing acts as a cushion to prevent 
any jar from reaching the brain when 
we jump or run, while the double 
curve of the spine also tends to dis- 
perse the force of a fall. Thus on 
every side the utmost caution is 
taken to guard that precious gem 
in its casket. 

The Perfection of the Spine sur- 
passes all human contrivances. Its 
various uses seem a bundle of con- 



k 



The Spine; 
the seven ver- 
tebrce of the 
neck, cervical; 
the twelve of 
the back, dor- 
sal; the Jive of 
the loins, lumbar ; a, 
tJie sacrum, and b, the 
coccyx, comprisi7ig the 
nine "-false vertebrcz'''' 
(p. 5). 



* These pads vary in thickness from one-fourth to one-half an inch. They become 
condensed by the weight they bear during the day, so that we are somewhat shorter 
at evening than in the morning. Their elasticity causes them to resume their usual 
size during the night, or when we lie down for a time. 



14 THE SKELETON. 

tradictions. A chain of twenty-four bones is made 
so stiff that it will bear a heavy burden, and so flex- 
ible that it will bend like rubber ; yet, all the while, 
it transmits no shock, and even hides a delicate nerve 
within that would thrill with the slightest touch. 
Resting upon it, the brain is borne without a tremor ; 
and, clinging to it, the vital organs are carried with- 
out fear of harm. 



Fig. 7. 




B, the first cervical vertebra, the atlas ; A, the atlas, and the second cervical vertebra, 
the axis ; e, tfie odontoid process ; c, the foramen. 

The Skull Articulates with (is jointed to) the spine 
in a peculiar manner. On the top of the upper ver- 
tebra (atlas*) are two little hollows {a, h, Fig. 7), 
nicely packed and lined with the synovial mem- 
brane, into which fit the corresponding projections 
on the lower part of the skull, and thus the head can 
rock to and fro. The second vertebra (axis) has a 
peg, e, which projects through a hole, c, in the first. 

The surfaces of both vertebrae are so smooth that 
they easily glide on each other, and thus, when we 
move the head sidewise, the atlas turns around the 
peg, e, of the axis. 

The Ribs, also twenty-four in number, are arranged 
in pairs on each side of the chest. At the back, they 

* Thus called because, as, in ancient fable, the god Atlas supported the world on 
his shoulders, so in the body this bone bears the head. 



THE RIBS. 15 




The Thorax^ or Chest : a, the sternum ; b to c, the true ribs ; d to h, the false ribs , 
g, h, the floating ribs ; i k, the dorsal vertebra. 



are all attached to the spine. In front, the upper 
seven pairs are tied by cartilages to the breast-bone 
(sternum) ; three are fastened to each other and the 
cartilage above, and two, the floating ribs, are loose. 
The natural form of the chest is that of a cone 
diminishing upward. But, owing to the tightness of 
the clothing commonly worn, the reverse is often 
the case. The long, slender ribs give lightness,* the 
arched form confers strength, and the cartilages 
impart elasticity, — ^properties essential to the pro- 
tection of the delicate organs within, and to freedom 
of motion in respiration. (See note, p. 80.) 

* If the chest-wall were in one bone thick enough to resist a blow, it would be 
unwieldy and heavy. As it is, the separate bones bound by cartilages yield gradu- 
ally, and diffuse the force among them all, and so are rarely broken. 



16 THE SKELETON. 

Fig. y. 




The Pelvis : a, the sacrum ; b, b, the right and the left innominatum. 

The Hip-bones, called by anatomists the innomi- 
nata, or nameless bones, form an irregular basin 
styled the pelvis (pelvis, a basin). In the upper part, 
is the foot of the spinal column — a wedge-shaped 
bone termed the sacrum'^ (sacred), firmly planted 
here between the wide-spreading and solid bones of 
the pelvis, like the keystone to an arch, and giving 
a steady support to the heavy burden above. 

3. THE LIMBS. 

Two Sets of Limbs branch from the trunk, viz. : 
the upper, and the lower. They closely resemble each 
other. The arm corresponds to the thigh ; the fore- 
arm, to the leg ; the wrist, to the ankle ; the fingers, 
to the toes. The fingers and the toes are so much 
alike that they receive the same name, digits, while 
the several bones of both have also the common 
appellation, phalanges. The differences which exist 

* So called because it was anciently offered in sacrifice. 



THE SHOULDEE. 



17 



Fig. 10. 



grow out of their varying uses. The foot is charac- 
terized by strength ; the hand, by mobility. 

1. The Upper Limbs. — The Shoulder. — The bones 
of the shoulder are the collar-bone (clavicle), and 
the shoulder-blade (scapula). The clavicle (clavis, a 
key) is a long, slender bone, shaped like the Italic 
/. It is fastened at one end to the breast-bone and 
the first rib, and, at the other, 
to the shoulder - blade. (See 
Fig. 1.) It thus holds the 
shoulder - joint out from the 
chest, and gives the arm 
greater play. If it be removed 
or broken, the head of the arm- 
bone will fall, and the motions 
of the arm be greatly re- 
stricted.* 

The Shoulder-blade is a thin, 
flat, triangular bone, fitted to 
the top and back of the chest, 
and designed to give a founda- 
tion for the muscles of the 
shoulder. 

The Shoulder - joint. — The 
arm-bone, or humerus, articulates with the shoul- 
der-blade by a ball-and-socket joint. This consists 
of a cup-like cavity in the latter bone, and a rounded 
head in the former, to fit it, — thus affording a free 
rotary motion. The shallowness of the socket ac- 
counts for the frequent dislocation of this joint, but a 
deeper one would diminish the easy swing of the arm. 




The Shoulder-joint; a, the 
clavicle; 1), the scapula. 



* Animals which use the forelegs ouly for support (as the horse, ox, etc ) do not 
is bone. '^ It is found in those that dig, fly, climb, and seize." 



18 



THE SKELETON. 




Fig, It The Elbow. — At the el- 

bow, the humerus articulates 
with the ulna — a slender 
bone on the inner side of 
the forearm — by a hinge- 
joint which admits of mo- 
tion in only two directions, 
i. e., backward and forward. 
The ulna is small at its 
lower end ; the radius, or 
large bone of the forearm, 
on the contrary, is small at 
its upper end, while it is 
large at its lower end, where 
it forms the wrist- joint. At 
the elbow, the head of the 
radius is convex and fits into 
a shallow cavity in the ulna, 
while at the wrist the ulna 
plays in a similar socket in 
the radius. Thus the radius may roll over and even 
cross the ulna. 

The Wrist, or carpus, consists of two rows of 
very irregular bones, one of which articulates with 
the fore-arm ; the other, with the hand. They are 
placed side to side and so firmly fastened as to 
admit of only a gliding motion. This gives little 
play, but great strength, elasticity, and power of 
resisting shocks. 

The Hand. — The metacarpal (meta, beyond ; and 
karpos, wrist), or bones of the palm, support each 
a thumb or finger. Each finger has three bones 



B A 

Bones of the right Fore-arm ; H, 
the humerus ; R, the radius ; and 

U, the ulna. 



THE HAND. 



19 



while the thumb has only ^'^'^^' 

two. The first bone of 

the thumb, standing apart 

from the rest, enjoys a 

special freedom of motion, 

and adds greatly to the 

usefulness of the hand. 

The first bone (Figs. 11, 
12) of each finger is so 
attached to the correspond- 
ing metacarpal bone as to 
move in several directions 
upon it, but the other pha- 
langes form hinge- joints. 

The fingers are named 
in order : the thumb, the 

index, the middle, the ring, and the little finger. 
Their different lengths cause them to fit the hollow 
of the hand when it is closed, and probably enable 
us more easily to grasp objects of varying size. If 
the hand clasps a ball, the tips of the fingers will be 
in a straight line. 

The hand in its perfection belongs only to man. 
Its elegance of outline, delicacy of mold, and beauty 
of color have made it the study of artists ; while its 
exquisite mobility and adaptation as a perfect 
instrument have led many philosophers to attribute 
man's superiority even more to the hand than to the 
mind.* 




the Hand and the Wrist. 



* How constantly the hand aids us in explaining or enforcing a thought ! We 
aifirm a fact by placing the hand as if we would rest it firmly on a body ; we deny 
by a gesture putting the false or erroneous proposition away from us ; we express 
doubt by holding the hand suspended, as if hesitating whether to take or reject. 
When we part from dear friends, or greet them again after long absence, the hand 



20 



^^:\^^ 



THE SKELETON. 

Fig. 13. 




K 



2. The Lower Limbs. — The Hip. — The thigh-bone, 
or femur, is the largest and necessarily the strongest 
in the skeleton, since at every step it has to bear 
the weight of the whole body. It articulates with 
the hip-bone by a ball-and-socket joint. Unlike the 
shoulder- joint, the cup here is deep, thus affording 
less play, but greater strength. It fits so tightly that 
the pressure of the air largely aids in keeping the 
bones in place.* Indeed, when the muscles are cut 
away, great force is required to detach the limbs. 

extends toward them as if to retain, or to bring them sooner to us. If a recital or a 
proposition is revolting, we reject it energetically in gesture as in thought. In a 
friendly adieu we wave our good wishes to him who is their object ; but when it 
expresses enmity, by a brusque movement we sever every tie. The open hand is 
carried backward to express fear or horror, as well as to avoid contact ; it goes for- 
ward to meet the hand of friendship ; it is raissd suppliantly in prayer toward 
Him from whom we hope for help : it caresses lovingly the downy cheek of the 
infant, and rests on its head invoking the blessing of 'H.ea.\e\i,— Wonders of the 
Human Body. 

* In order to test this, a hole was bored through a hip-bone so as to admit air into 
the socket ; the thigh-bone at once fell out as far as the ligaments would permit. An 



THE FOOT. 21 

The Knee is strengthened by the patella, or knee- 
pan {patella, little dish), a chestnut-shaped bone 
firmly fastened over the joint. 

The shin-bone, or tibia, the large, triangular bone 
on the inner side of the leg, articulates both with the 
femur and the foot by a hinge-joint. The knee-joint 
is so made, however, as to admit of a slight rotary 
motion when the limb is not extended. 

The fibula {fibula, a clasp), the small, outside bone 
of the leg, is firmly bound at both ends to the tibia. 
(See Fig. 1.) It is immovable, and, as the tibia bears 
the principal weight of the body, the chief use of 
this second bone seems to be to give more surface to 
which the muscles may be attached. * 

The Foot. — The general arrangement of the foot is 
strikingly like that of the hand (Fig. 1). The several 
parts are the tarsus, the metatarsus, and the pha- 
langes. The graceful arch of the foot, and the nu- 
merous bones joined by cartilages, give an elasticity 
to the step that could never be attained by a single, 
flat bone. The toes naturally lie straight forward in 
the line of the foot. Few persons in civilized nations, 
however, have naturally-formed feet. The big toe 

experiment was also devised whereby a suitably-prepared hip-joint was placed under 
the receiver of an air-pump. On exhausting the air, the weight of the femur caused 
it to drop out of the socket, while the re-admission of the air raised it to its place. 
Without this arrangement, the adjacent muscles would have been compelled to bear 
the additional weight of the thigh-bone eveiy time it was raised. Now the pressure 
of the air rids them of this unnecessary burden, and hence they are less easily 
fatigued. — Weber. 

* A young man in the hospital at Limoges had lost the middle part of his tibia. 
The lost bone was not reproduced, but the fibula, the naturally weak and slender 
part of the leg, became thick and strong enough to support the whole body. An 
experiment has been performed which illustrates this idea still more strikingly. An 
inch of the middle part of the fibula of an animal was cut out. A long time after- 
ward the beast was killed, when the tibia was found to have become considerably 
larger in that part of it which corresponded exactly with the defect in the fibula.— 
8tanley''s Lectures. 



22 THE SKELETON. 

is crowded upon the others, while crossed toes, nails 
grown-in, enormous j oints, corns, and bunions abound. 

The Cause of these Deformities is found in the 
shape and size of fashionable boots and shoes. The 
sole ought to be large enough for full play of motion, 
the uppers should not crowd the toes, and the heels 
should be low, flat, and broad. As it is, there is a 
constant warfare between Nature and our shoe- 
makers,* and we are the victims. The narrow point 
in front pinches our toes, and compels them to over- 
ride one another; the narrow sole compresses the 
arch ; while the high heel, by throwing all the 
weight forward on the toes, strains the ankle, and, 
by sending the pressure where Nature did not 
design it to fall, causes that joint to become en- 
larged. The body bends forward to meet the 
demand of this new motion, and thus loses its up- 
rightness and beauty, making our gait stiff and un- 
graceful. 

Diseases, etc. — 1. The Rickets are caused by a 
lack of mineral matter in the bones, rendering them 
soft and pliable, so that they bend under the weight 
of the body. They thus become permanently dis- 
torted, and of course are weaker than if they were 
straight, f The disease is cured by a more nutritive 



* When we are measured for boots or shoes, we should stand on a sheet of 
paper, and have the shoemaker mark with a pencil the exact outline of our feet as 
they bear our whole weight. "\\Tien the shoe is made, the sole should exactly cover 
this outline. 

t Just here appears an exceedingly beautiftil provision. As soon as the dispro- 
portion of animal matter ceases, a larger supply of mineral is sent to the weak 
points, and the bones actually become thicker, denser, harder, and consequently 
stronger at the very concave part where the stress of pressure is greatest. — Watson's 
Lectures. We shall often have occasion to refer to similar wise and providential 
arrangements whereby the body is enabled to remedy defects, and to prepare for 
accidents. 



DISEASES, ETC. 23 

diet, or by taking phosphate of lime to supply the 
lack. 

2. A Felon is a swelling of the finger or thumb, 
usually of the last joint It is marked by an accu- 
mulation beneath the periosteum and next the bone. 
The physician will merely cut through the perios- 
teum, and let out the effete matter. 

3. Bowlegs are caused by children standing on 
their feet before the bones of the lower limbs are 
strong enough to bear their weight. The custom of 
encouraging young children to stand up by means 
of a chair or the support of the hand, while the bones 
are yet soft and pliable, is a cruel one, and liable to 
produce permanent deformity. Nature will set the 
child on its feet when the proper time comes. 

4. Curvature of the Spine. — When the spine is 
bent, the packing between the vertebrae becomes 
compressed on one side into a wedge-like shape. 
After a time, it will lose its elasticity, and the spine 
become distorted. This occurs frequently in the 
case of students who bend forward to bring their 
eyes nearer their books, instead of lifting their 
books nearer their eyes, or who raise their right 
shoulder above their left when writing at a desk 
which is too high. Round shoulders, small, weak 
lungs, and, oftentimes, diseases of the spine are the 
consequences. An erect posture in reading or writ- 
ing conduces not alone to beauty of form, but also 
to health of body. 

5. Sprains are produced when the ligaments 
which bind the bones of a joint are strained, twisted, 
or torn from their attachments. They are quite as 
harmful as a broken bone, and require careful atten- 



34 THE SKELETON. 

tion lest they lead to a crippling for life. The use of 
a sprained limb may permanently impair its useful- 
ness. Hence, the joint should be kept quiet, even 
after the immediate pain is gone. 

6. A Dislocation is produced by the rupture of 
the tissues of the joint so that the head of the bone 
is driven out of its socket and into some other place 
both by the force of the blow which caused the 
injury and by the contraction of the muscles. 



PRA.CTICAL QUESTIONS. 

1. Why does not a fall liurt a child as much as it does a grown 
person ? 

2. Should a young child ever be urged to stand or walk? 

3. What is meant by " breaking one's neck " ? 

4. Should chairs or benches have straight backs ? 

5. Should a child's feet be allowed to dangle from a high seat ? 

6. Why can we tell whether a fowl is young by pressing on the point 
of the breast-bone ? 

7. What is the use of the marrow in the bones? 

8. Why is the shoulder so often put out of joint ? 

9. How can you tie a knot in a bone ? 

10. Why are high pillows injurious ? 

11. Is the " Grecian bend " a healthful position ? 

12. Should a boot have a heel-piece ? 

13. Why should one always sit and walk erect ? 

14. Why does a young child creep rather than walk ? 

15. What is the natural direction of the big toe ? 



II. 
THE MUSCLES. 



Behold the outward Jiioving frame, 
Its living marbles jointed strong 

With glistening hand and silvery thong. 
And li7ik'd to reason's guiding reins 
By myriad rings in trembling chains, 
Each graven with the threaded zone 

Which claims it as the Master's own" 

Holmes. 



BLACKBOARID A1^Q^ALYSIS. 



1. The Use, Steuctube, i 
AND Action of the i 
Muscles. 



2. The Muscular Sense. 



Hygiene or 
Muscles. 



1. The use of the muscles. 

2. ContraclUity of the muscles. 

3. Arrangement of the muscles. 

4. The two kinds of muscles. 

5. The structure of the muscles. 

6. The tendons for fastening muscles. 

7. The muscles and bones as levers. 

8. The effect of big joints. 

9. Action of the muscles in standing. 
I 10. Action of the muscles in walking. 



1. Necessity of Exercise. 

2. Time for Exercise. 

3. Kinds of Exercise. 



4. Wonders of the Muscles. 



5. Diseases. 



1. St. Yitns's Dance. 

2. Convulsions. 
8. Locked-jaw. 

4. Gout. 

5. Eheumatism. 

6. Lumbago. 

7. A Ganglion. 



THE MUSCLES. 

THE Use of the Muscles. — The skeleton is the 
image of death. Its unsightly appearance in- 
stinctively repels us. We have seen, however, what 
uses it subserves in the body, and how the ugly- 
looking bones abound in nice contrivances and inge- 
nious workmanship. In life, the framework is 
hidden by the flesh. This covering is a mass of 
muscles, which not only give form and symmetry 
to the body, but also produce its varied movements. 

In Fig. 14, we see the large exterior muscles. Be- 
neath these are many others ; while deeply hidden 
within are tiny, delicate ones, too small to be seen 
with the naked, eye. , There are, in all, about five 
hundred, each having its special use, and all working 
in exquisite harmony and perfection. 

Contractility. — The peculiar property of the muscles 
is their power of contraction, whereby they decrease 
in length and increase in thickness. * This may be 
caused by an effort of the will, by cold, by a sharp 
blow, &c. It does not cease at death, but, in certain 
cold-blooded animals, a contraction of the muscles is 
often noticed long after the head has been cut off. 

* The maximum force of this contraction has been estimated as high as from 85 
to 114 pounds per square inch. 



30 THE MUSCLES. 

Arrangement of the Muscles.* — The muscles 
are nearly all arranged in pairs, each with its 
antagonist, so that, as they contract and expand 
alternately, the bone to which they are attached is 
moved to and fro. 

If you grasp the arm tightly with your hand just 
above the elbow-joint, and bend the forearm, you 
will feel the muscle on the inside (biceps, a, Fig. 14) 
swell, and become hard and prominent, while the 
outside muscle (triceps, /) will be relaxed. Now 
straighten the arm, and the swelling and hardness 
of the inside muscle will vanish, while the outside 
one will, in turn, become rigid. So, also, if you clasp 
the arm just below the elbow, and then open and 
shut the fingers, you can feel the alternate expand- 
ing and relaxing of the muscles on opposite sides of 
the arms. 

If the muscles on one side of the face become 
palsied, those on the other side will draw the mouth 
that way. Squinting is caused by one of the straight 
muscles of the eye (Fig. 17) contracting more 
strongly than its antagonist. 

Kinds of Muscles. — There are two kinds of muscles, 
the voluntary, which are under the control of our 
will, and the involuntary, which are not. Thus our 
limbs stiffen or relax as we please, but the heart 
beats on by day and by night. The eyelid, however, 

* " Could we behold properly the muscular fibers iu operation, nothing, as a mere 
mechanical exhibition, can be conceived more superb than the intricate and com- 
bined actions that must take place during our most common movements. Look at a 
person running or leaping, or watch the motions of the eye. How rapid, how deli- 
cate, how complicated, and yet how accurate, are the motions required ! Think of 
the endurance of such a muscle as the heart, that can contract, with a force equal to 
sixty pounds, seventy-five times every minute, for eighty years together, without 
being weary." 



I 



THE STRUCTURE OF THE MUSCLES. 31 

is both voluntary and involuntary, so that while we 
wink constantly without effort, we can, to a certain 
extent, restrain or control the motion. 

Structure of the Muscles. — If we take a piece of 
lean beef and wash out the red color, we can easily 
detect the fine fibers of which the meat is composed. 
In boiling corned beef for the table, the fibers often 
separate, owing to the dissolving of the delicate 
tissue which bound them together. By means of 
the microscope, we find that these fibers are made 
up of minute filaments {fibrils), and that each fibril 
is composed of a row of small cells arranged like a 
string of beads. This gives the muscles a peculiar 
striped (striated) appearance.* The cells are filled 
with a fluid or semi-fluid mass of living (protoplas- 
mic) matter. 

The binding of so many threads into one bundle \ 
confers great strength, according to a mechanical 



Fig. 15. 




Microscopic view of a Muscle., showing, at one end., the Jlbrilke ; and, at the other, 
the disks, or cells, of the fiber. 

principle that we see exemplified in suspension 
bridges, where the weight is sustained, not by bars 

* The involuntary muscles consist generally of smooth, fibrous tissue, and form 
sheets or membranes in the walls of hollow organs. By their contraction they 
change the size of cavities which they enclose. Some functions, however, like the 
action of the heart, or the movements of deglutition (swallowing), require the rapid, 
vigorous contraction, characteristic of the voluntary muscular i\S:?^\\.Q.— Flint. 

t We shall learn hereafter how these fibers are firmly tied together by a mesh of 
fine connective tissue which dissolves in boiling, as just described. 



32 



THE MUSCLES. 



of iron, but by small wires twisted into massive 
ropes. 

The Tendons. — The ends of the muscles are gene- 
rally attached to the bone by strong, flexible, but 
inelastic tendons. * The muscular fibers spring from 

the sides of the tendon, so 
that more of them can act 
upon the bone than if they 
went directly to it. Besides, 
the small, insensible tendon 
can better bear the exposure 
of passing over a joint, and 
be more easily lodged in some 
protecting groove, than, the 
broad, sensitive muscle. This 
mode of attachment gives to 
the limbs strength, and ele- 
gance of form. Thus, for 
example, if the large muscles 
of the arm extended to the 
hand, they would make it 
bulky and clumsy. The ten- 
dons, however, reach only to 
the wrist, whence fine cords 
pass to the fingers (Fig. 16). 

Here we notice two other 
admirable arrangements. 1. 
If the long tendons at the 
wrist on contracting should 
rise, projections would be made and thus the beauty of 




lU 



■« \\ 



\ 




Tendons of the Hand. 



* Tbe tendons may be easily seen in the leg of a turkey as it comes on our table ; 
so, at a Thanksgiving dinner, we may study Physiology while we pick the bones. 



THE TENDONS. 



33 



the slender joint be marred. To prevent this, a stout 
band or bracelet of ligament holds them down to 
their place. 2. In order to allow the tendon which 
moves the last joint of the finger to pass through, 
the tendon which moves the second joint divides 
at its attachment to the bone (Fig. 16). This is the 
most economical mode of packing the muscles, as 
any other practicable arrangement would increase 
the bulk of the slender finger. 

Fig. 17. D 




Hie Muscles of the RigM Eye. A, superior straight ,' B, superior oblique passing 
through a pulley, D ; G, inferior oblique ; H, external straight, and, back of it, the 
internal straight muscle. 

Since the tendon cannot always pull in the direc- 
tion of the desired motion, some contrivance is 
necessary to meet the want. The tendon (B) be- 
longing to one of the muscles of the eye, for 
example, passes through a ring of cartilage, and 
thus a rotary motion is secured, 



34 



THE MUSCLES. 



The Levers of the Body.*— In producing the mo. 
tions of the body, the muscles use the bones as levers. 

Fig. 18. 
i \ \ \ \ \ 






1. II. 

The three classes of Levers, and also the foot < 

We see an illustration of the first class of levers in 
the movements of the head. The back or front of 
the head is the weight to be lifted, the backbone is 

Fig. 19. 




The hand as a Lever of the third class. 

the fulcrum on which the lever turns, and the 
muscles at the back or front of the neck exert the 
power by which we toss or bow the head. 

* A lever is a stiff bar resting on a point of support, called the fulci^m (F), and 
having connected with it a weight (W) to be lifted, and a power (P) to move it. 
There are three classes of levers according to the arrangement of the power, weight, 
and fulcrum. In the 1st class, the P is between the P and W ; in the 2d, the W is 
between the P and F ; and in the 3d, the P is between the W and F (Fig. 18). A 
pump-handle is an example of the first; a lemon-squeezer, of the second; and a pair 
of fire-tongs, of the third. See Physics, pp. 69—71, for a full description of this 
subject, and many illustrations. 



THE LEVERS OF THE BODY. 35 

When we raise the body on tiptoe, we have an 
instance of the second class. Here, our toes resting 
on the ground form the fulcrum, the muscles of the 
calf (gas-troc-ne-mi-us,y, and so-le-us, Fig. 14), acting 
through the tendon of the heel,* are the power, and 
the weight is borne by the ankle joint. 

An illustration of the third class is found in lifting 
the hand from the elbow. The hand is the weight, 
the elbow the fulcrum, and the power is applied by 
the biceps muscle at its attachment to the radius. 
j(A, Fig. 19.) In this form of the lever there is a great 
loss of force, because it is applied at such a distance 
from the weight, but there is a gain of velocity, since 
the hand moves so far by such a slight contraction 
of the muscle. The hand is required to perform 
quick motions, and therefore this mode of attach- 
ment is wisely adopted. 

The nearer the power is applied to the resistance, 
the more easily the work is done. In the lower 
jaw, for example, the jaw is the weight, the fulcrum 
is the hinge- joint at the back, and the muscles (tem- 
poral, d, and the mas'-se-ter, e, Fig. 14) on each side 
are the power. \ They act much closer to the resist- 



* This is called the Ten don of AchUles (^, Fi^. 14), and is so named because, as 
the fable runs, when Achilles was an infant his mother held him by the heel while 
she dipped him in the River Styx, whose water had the power of rendertag one 
invulnerable to any weapon. His heel, not being wet, was therefore his weak 
point, and here Paris, at last, directed the fatal arrow which killed the famous 
hero.—" This tendon will bear 1000 lbs. weight before it will 'bvciik.."'—Mapother. 

The horse is said to be " hamstrung " and so rendered useless, when the Tendon 
of Achilles is cut. 

+ We may feel the contraction of the masseter by placing our hand on the face 
when we work the jaw, while the temporal can be readily detected by putting the 
fingers on the temple while we are chewing. The tendon of the muscle (digastric) 
—one of those which open the jaw— passes through a pulley (c, Pig. 14) somewhat 
like the one in the eye. 




36 THE MUSCLES. 

ance than those in the hand, since here we desire 
force, and there speed. 

The Enlargement of the Bones at the 
Joints not only affords greater surface 
for the attachment of the muscles, as 
we have seen, but also enables them 
to work to better advantage. Thus, in 
Fig. 20 it is evident that a muscle act- 
ing in the line fh would not bend the 
lower limb so easily as if it were acting 
in the line fh, since in the former case 
its force would be about all spent in 
^tjhemSa; drawing the bones more closely to- 
f, thetendm. gg^j^^r, whilc in the latter it would pull 
more nearly at a right angle. Thus the tendon /, 
by passing over the patella, which is itself pushed 
out by the protuberance h of the thigh-bone, pulls 
at a larger angle,* and so the leg is thrown for- 
ward with ease in walking and with great force in 
kicking. 

How We Stand Erect. — The joints play so easily, 
and the center of gravity in the body is so far above 
the foot, that the skeleton cannot of itself hold our 
bodies upright. Thus it requires the action of many 
muscles to maintain this position. The head so 
rests upon the spine as to tend to fall in front, but 
the muscles of the neck steady it in its place. \ The 

* The chief use of the processes of the spine (Fig. 6) and other hones is, in the 
same way, to throw out the point on which the power acts as far from the fiilcrum 
as possible. The projections of the ulna ("funny-bone") behind the elbow, and 
that of the heel-bone to which the Tendon of Achilles is attached, are excellent 
iDustrations (Fig. 1). 

+ In animals the jaws are so heavy, and the place where the head and spine join 
is so far back, that there can be no balance as there is in man. There are therefore 



HOW WE STAND ERECT. 



37 



/. 31. 



hT. 



7 



hips incline forward, but are held erect 
by the strong muscles of the back. The 
trunk is nicely balanced on the head of 
the thigh-bones. The great muscles of 
the thigh acting over the knee-pan tend 
to bend the body forward, but the mus- 
cles of the calf neutralize this action. 
The ankle, the knee, and the hip lie 
in nearly the same line, and thus the 
weight of the body rests directly on the 
key-stone of the arch of the foot. So 
perfectly do these muscles act that we 
never think of them until science calls 
our attention to the subject, and yet to 
acquire the necessary skill to use them 
in our infancy needed patient lessons, 
much time, and many hard knocks. 

How We Walk. — Walking is as com- 
plex an act as standing. It is really a 
perilous performance, which has be- 
come safe only because of constant 
practice. We see how violent it is when 
we run against a post in the dark, and 
find w?th what headlong force we were 
hurling ourselves forward. Holmes has 
well defined walking as a perpetual falling with a 
constant self-recovery. Standing on one foot we 
let the body fall forward, and swing the other leg 
ahead like a pendulum. Planting that foot on the 



Action of the 
Muscles which 
keep the body 
erect. 



large muscles in their necks. We readily find that we have none if we get on " all 
fours " and try to hold up the head. On the other hand, gorillas and apes cannot 
stand up erect like man. Their head, trunk, legs, etc., are not balanced by muscles, 
so as to be ta line with one another. 



38 THE MUSCLES. 

ground, to save the body from falling further, we 
then swing the first foot forward again to repeat the 
same operation.* 

The shorter the pendulum, the more rapidly it 
vibrates ; and so short-legged people take quicker 
and shorter steps than long-legged ones.f We are 
shorter when walking than when standing still, 
because of this falling forward to take a step in 
advance. J 

In running, we incline the body more, and so, as 
it were, fall faster. When we walk, one foot is on 
the ground all the time, and there is an instant when 
both feet are planted upon it ; but in running there 
is an interval of time in each step when both feet 
are off the ground, and the body is wholly unsup- 
ported. As we step alternately with the feet, we are 
inclined to turn the body first to one side and then 
to the other. This movement is sometimes coun- 
terbalanced by swinging the hand on the opposite 
side. § 



* It is a curious fact that one side of the body tends to out-walk the other ; and so, 
when a man is lost in the woods, he often goes in a circle, and at last comes round to 
the spot whence he started. 

t In this respect, Tom Thumb was to Magrath, whose skeleton, eight and one- 
half feet high, is now in the Dublin Museum, what a little, fast-ticking, French 
mantel-clock is to a big, old-fashioned, upright, comer time-piece. 

t Women find that a gown that will swing clear of the ground when they are 
standing still, will drag the street when they are walking. The length of the step 
may be increased by muscular effort as when a liue of soldiers keep step in spite 
of their having legs of different lengths. Such a mode of walking is necessarily 
fatiguing. 

§ "In ordinary walking the speed is nearly four miles an hour, and can be kept 
up for a long period. But exercise and a special aptitude for it enable some men to 
walk great distances in a relatively short space of time. Trained walkers have gone 
seventy-five miles in twenty hours, and walked the distance of thirty-seven miles at 
the rate of five miles an hour. The mountaineers of the Alps are generally good 
walkers, and some of them are not less remarkable for endurance than for speed. 
Jacques Balmat, who was the first to reach the summit of Mont Blanc, at sixteen 
years of age could walk from the hamlet of the Pelerins to the mountain of La C6te 



NECESSITY OF EXERCISE. 39 

The Muscular Sense, — When we lift an object, we 
feel a sensation of weight, which we can compare 
with that experienced in lifting another body. * By 
care we may cultivate this sense so as to form a 
very precise estimate of the weight of a body by 
balancing it in the hand. The muscular sense is 
useful to us in many ways. It guides us in standing 
or moving. We gratify it when we walk erect and 
with an elastic step, and by dancing, jumping, 
skating, and gymnastic exercises. 

Necessity of Exercise. — The effect of exercise upon 
a muscle is very marked, f By use it grows larger, 
and becomes hard, compact, and darker-colored ; by 
disuse it decreases in size, and becomes soft, flabby, 
and pale. 

Violent exercise, however, is injurious, since we 



in two hours, — a distance which the best trained travelers required from five to six 
hours to get over. At the time of his last attempt to reach the top of Mont Blanc, 
this same guide, then twenty years old, passed six days and four nights without 
sleeping or reposing a single moment. One of his sons, Edward Balmat, left Paris 
to join his regiment at Genoa ; he reached Chamonix the fifth day at evening, having 
walked 340 miles. After resting two days, he set ofi" again for Genoa, where he 
arrived in two days. Several years afterward, this same man left the haths at 
Loueche at two o'clock in the morning, and reached Chamonix at nine in the even- 
ing, having walked a distance equal to about seventy-five miles in nineteen hours. 
In 1844, an old guide of De Saussure, eighty years old, left the hamlet of Prats, in the 
valley of Chamonix, in the afternoon, and reached the Grand Mulcts at ten in the 
evening ; then, after resting some hours, he climbed the glacier to the vicinity of the 
Grand Plateau, which has an altitude of about 13,000 feet, and then returned to his 
village without stopping."— ■pF'o/ia^ers of the Body. 

* If a small ivory ball be allowed to roll down the cheek toward the lips, it wiU 
appear to increase in weight. In general, the more sensitive parts of the body 
recognize smaller difi"erences in weight, and the right hand is more accurate than 
the left. We are very apt, however, to judge of the weight of a body from pre- 
vious conceptions. Thus, shortly after Sir Humphrey Davy discovered the metal 
potassium, he placed a piece of it in Dr. Pierson's hand, who exclaimed, " Bless me ! 
How heavy it is 1 " Eeally, however, potassium is so light that it will float on water 
like cork. 

t The greater size of the breast (pectoral muscle) of a pigeon, as compared with 
that of a duck, shows how muscle increases with use. The breast of a chicken is 
white because it is not used for flight, and therefore gets little blood. 



40 "IBM MUSCLES. 

then tear down faster than nature can build up. 
Feats of strength are not only hurtful, but dan- 
gerous. Often the muscles are strained or ruptured, 
and blood-vessels burst in the effort to outdo one's 
companions. * 

Two thousand years ago, Isocrates, the Greek 
rhetorician, said, " Exercise for health, not for 
strength." The cultivation of muscle for its own 
sake is a return to barbarism, while it enfeebles the 
mind, and ultimately the body. The ancient gym- 
nasts are said to have become prematurely old, and 
the trained performers of our own day soon suffer 
from the strain they put upon their muscular sys- 
tem. Few men have vigor sufficient to become both 
athletes and scholars. Exercise should, therefore, 
merely supplement the deficiency of our usual em- 
ployment. A sedentary life needs daily, moderate 
exercise, which always stops short of fatigue. This 
is a law of health. 

No education is complete which fails to provide 
for the development of the muscles. Eecesses 
should be as strictly devoted to play as study-hours 
are to work. Were gymnastics or calisthenics as 
regular an exercise as grammar or arithmetic, fewer 
pupils would be compelled to leave school on account 
of ill health ; while spinal curvatures, weak backs, 
and ungraceful gaits would no longer characterize 
so many of our best institutions. 

Time for Exercise. — We should not exercise after 
long abstinence from food, nor immediately after a 

* Instances have been known of children falling dead from having carried to 
excess so pleasant and healthful an amusement as jumping the rope, and of persons 
rupturing the Tendon of Achilles in dancing. 



WHAT KIND OF EXERCISE TO TAKE. 41 

meal, unless the meal or the exercise be very light. 
There is an old-fashioned prejudice in favor of exer- 
cise before breakfast — an hour suited to the strong 
and healthy, but entirely unfitted to the weak and 
delicate. On first rising in the morning, the pulse 
is low, the skin relaxed, and the system susceptible 
to cold. Feeble persons, therefore, need to be braced 
with food before they brave the out-door air. 

"What Kind of Exercise to Take. — For children, 
games are unequalled. Walking, the universal 
exercise,* is beneficial, as it takes one into the open 
air and sunlight. Eunning is better, since it em- 
ploys more muscles, but must not be pushed to 
excess, as it taxes the heart, and may lead to disease 
of that organ. Rowing is more effectual in its gen- 
eral development of the system. Swimming employs 
the muscles of the whole body, and is a valuable 
acquirement, as it may be the means of saving life. 
Horseback riding is a fine accomplishment, and 
refreshes mind and body alike. Gymnastic or calis- 
thenic exercises, when carefully selected, and not 
indulged immoderately, bring into play all the 
muscles of the body, and become preferable to any 
other mode of in-door exercise, f 

* The custom of walking, so prevalent in England, has doubtless much to do with 
the superior physique of its people. It is considered nothing for a woman to take 
a walk of eight or ten miles, and long pedestrian excursions are made to all parts of 
the country. The benefits which accrue from such an open-air life are sadly needed 
by the women of our own land. A walk of half-a-dozen miles should be a pleas- 
ant recreation for any healthy person. 

+ The employment of the muscles in exercise not only benefits their especial struc- 
ture, but it acts on the whole system. When the muscles are put in action, the 
capillary blood-vessels with which they are supplied become more rapidly charged 
with blood, and active changes take place, not only in the muscles, but in all the 
surrounding tissues. The heart is required to supply more blood, and accordingly 
beats more rapidly in order to meet the demand. A. larger quantity of blood is sent 
through the lungs, and larger supplies of oxygen are taken in and carried to the 



42 THE MUSCLES. 

The "Wonders of the Muscles. — The grace, ease, 
and rapidity with which the muscles contract are 
astonishing. By practice, they acquire a facility 
which we call mechanical. The voice may utter 
loOO letters in a minute, yet each requires a distinct 
position of the vocal organs. We train the muscles 
of the fingers till they glide over the keys of the 
piano, executing the most exquisite and diflScult 
harmony. In writing, each letter is formed by its 
peculiar motions, yet we make them so uncon- 
sciously that a skilful penman will describe beauti- 
ful curves while thinking only of the idea that the 
sentence is to express. The mind of the violinist is 
upon the music which his right hand is executing, 
while his left determines the length of the string 
and the character of each note so carefully that not 
a false sound is heard, although the variation of a 
hair's breadth would cause a discord. In the arm of 
a blacksmith, the biceps muscle may grow into the 
solidity almost of a club ; the hand of a prize-fighter 
will strike a blow like a sledge-hammer : while the 
engraver traces lines invisible to the naked eye, 



varions tissues. The oxygen, by combining witb the carbon of the blood and the 
tissues, engenders a larger quantity of heat, which produces an action on the skin, 
in order that the superfluous warmth may be disposed of. The skin is thus eser- 
cised, as it were, and the sudoriparous and sebaceous glands are set at work. The 
lungs and skin are brought into operation, and the lungs throw off large quantities 
of carbonic acid, and the skin large quantities of water, containing in solution mat- 
ters Avhich, if retained, would produce disease in the body. Wherever the blood is 
sent, changes of a healthful character occur. The brain and the rest of the nervous 
system are invigorated, the stomach has its powers of digestion improved, and the 
liver, pancreas, and other organs perform their functions with more vigor. By 
want of exercise, the constituents of the food which pass into the blood are not oxi- 
dized, and products which produce disease are engendered. The introduction of 
fresh supplies of oxygen induced by exercise oxidizes these products, and renders 
them harmless ; all other things being the same, it may be laid down as a rule that 
those who take the most exercise in the open air will live the longest.^LanJcester. 



DISEASES, ETC. 43 

and the fingers of the blind acquire a delicacy that 
almost supplies the place of the missing sense. 

Diseases, etc. — 1. St. Vitus's Dance is a disease 
of the voluntary muscles, whereby they are in fre- 
quent, irregular, and spasmodic motion beyond the 
control of the will. All causes of excitement, and. 
especially of fear, should be avoided, and the gen- 
eral health of the patient invigorated, as this disease 
is closely connected wi^h a derangement of the 
nervous system. 

2. Convulsions are an involuntary contraction of 
the muscles. Consciousness is wanting, while the 
limbs may be stiff or in spasmodic action. (See 
Appendix.) 

3. LocKED-JAW is a disease in which there are 
spasms and a contraction of the muscles, usually 
beginning in the lower jaw. It is serious, often 
fatal, yet it is sometimes caused by as trivial an 
injury as the stroke of a whip-lash, the lodgement 
of a bone in the throat, a fish-hook in the finger, or 
the puncture of the sole of the foot by a tack or 
a nail. 

4. Gout is an acute pain located chiefly in the 
small joints of the foot, especially those of the great 
toe, which become swollen and extremely sensitive. 
It is generally brought on by high living. 

5. Rheumatism affects mainly the connective, 
white, fibrous tissue of the larger joints. While 
gout is the punishment of the rich who live luxu- 
riously and indolently, rheumatism afflicts the poor 
and the rich alike. There are two common forms 
of rheumatism — the inflammatory or acute, and the 



44 THE MUSCLES. 

chronic. The latter is of long continuance ; the 
former terminates more speedily. The acute form 
is probably a disease of the blood, which carries 
with it some poisonous matter that is deposited 
where the fibrous tissue is most abundant. 

The disease flies from one joint to another in the 
most unaccountable manner, and the pain caused 
by even the slightest motion deprives the sufferer 
of the use of the disabled part and its muscles. The 
chief danger to be feared is the possibility of its 
going to the heart. Any violent remedies, therefore, 
which would throw it from the surface are to be 
avoided. There is no generally-accepted mode of 
treating the disease. Warm fomentations are 
usually grateful. Chronic rheumatism — the result 
of repeated attacks of the acute — leads to great suf- 
fering, and oftentimes to disorganization of the 
joints, and an interference with the movements of 
the heart. 

6. Lumbago is a rheumatic pain in the muscles of 
the small of the back. * It may be so moderate as to 
produce only a '^ lame back," or so severe as to dis- 
able, as in the case of a '' crick in the back." Strong 
swimmers who sometimes suddenly drown without 
apparent cause are supposed to be seized in this 
way. 

7. A Ganglion, or what is vulgarly called a 

* Lumbago is really a form of myalgia, a disease whiclilias its seat in the muscles, 
and may thus affect any part of the body. Doubtless much of what is commonly 
called "liver" or "kidney complaint " is only, in one case, myalgia of the chest or 
abdominal walls near the liver, or, in the other, of the back and loins near the kid- 
neys. Chronic liver disease is comparatively rare in the northern States, and pain 
in the side is not a prominent symptom, while certain diseases of the kidneys, which 
are as surely fatal as pulmonary consumption, are not attended by pain in the back 
opposite these organs. — Wey. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 45 

*'weak" or "weeping sinew," is a swelling of a 
bursa. ^ It sometimes becomes so distended by fluid 
as to be mistaken for bone. If on binding some- 
thing hard upon it for a few days it does not disap- 
pear, a physician will remove the liquid by means 
of a hypodermic syringe, or perhaps " scatter" it by 
an external application of iodine. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

1. What class of lever is the foot when we lift a weight on the 
toes? 

2. Explain the movement of the body backward and forward, when 
resting upon the thigh-bone as a falcrum. 

3. What class of lever do we use when we lift the foot while sitting 
down? 

4. Explain the swing of the arm from the shoulder. 

5. What class of lever is used in bending our fingers ? 

6. What class of lever is our foot when we tap the ground with 
our toes ? 

7. What class of lever do we use when we raise ourselves from a 
stooping position ? 

8. What class of lever is the foot when we walk ? 

9. Why can we raise a heavier weight with our hand when lifting 
from the elbow than from the shoulder? 

10. What class of lever do we employ when we are hopping, the 
thigh bone being bent up toward the body and not used? 

11. Describe the motions of the bones when we are using a gimlet, 

12. Why do we tire when we stand erect? 

13. Why does it rest us to change our work ? 

* A bursa is a small sack containing a lubricating fluid to prevent friction where 
tendons play over hard surfaces. There is one shaped like an hour-glass on the 
wrist, just at the edge of the palm. By pressing back the liquid it contains, this 
bursa may be clearly seen. 



46 THE MUSCLES. 

14. Why and when is dancing a beneficial exercise ? 

15. Why can we exert greater force with the hack teeth than with 
the front ones '! 

16. Why do we lean forward when we wish to rise from a chair? 

17. Why does the projection of the heel -hone make walking easier ? 

18. Does a horse travel v^itli less fatigue over a flat than a hilly 
country ? 

19. Can you move your upper jaw? 

20. Are people naturally right or left-handed? 

21. Why can so few persons move their ears by the muscles? 

22. Is the blacksmith's right arm healthier than the left? 

23. Boys often, though foolishly, thrust a pin into the flesh just 
above the knee. Wby is it not painful 1 

24. Will ten-minutes practice in a gymnasium answer for a day's 
exercise ? 

25. Why would an elastic tendon be unfitted to transmit the motion 
of a muscle ? 

26. When one is struck violently on the head, why does he instantly 
fall? 

27. What is the cause of the dijBference between light and dark meat 
in a fowl ^ 



III. 
THE SKIN 



— A protection from the outer world, it is our only means of 
communicating with it. Insensible itself^ it is the organ of 
touch. It feels the pressure of a hair, yet bears the weight 
of the body. It yields to every motion of that which it wraps 
and holds in place. It hides from view the delicate organs 
within, yet the faintest tint of a thought shines through., while 
the soul paints upon it, as on a canvas, the richest and rarest 
of colors. 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS. 



C 1. The Cutis ; its composition and character. 
The Structuee or J 2. The Cnticle ; its composition and character. 
THE Skin. ] 3. The value of the Cuticle. 

t 4. The Complexion. 



The Haib and the 

Nails. 



1. The Hair 



fa. Description. 

I b. Method of Growth. 

J c. As an instrument of 



2. The Nails. 



feeling, 
d. Indestructibility 

the hair, 
"a. Uses. 
b. Method of growth. 



of 



3. The 



Mucous 

BBANE. 



Mem- j o 

11: 



The Structure. 
Connective Tissue. 
Fat. 



4. The Teeth 



1. Number and kinds of Teeth. 

1 mi.^ + r. o^+o J 1- The Milk Teeth. 

1. The two sets -j .^ The Permanent Teeth 

2. Structure of the Teeth. 

3. The Setting of the Tooth in the Jaw. 

4. The Decay of the Teeth. 

5. The Preservation of the Teeth. 



5. The Glaiids. 



1. The two kinds. 



6. Hygiene. 



7. Diseases. 



(See 



j 1. Oil Glands. 
■ ( 2. Perspiratory Glands. 

2. The Perspiration. 

3. The Absorbing Power of the Skin 

Lymphatics.) 

1. About Washing and Bathing. 

2. The Eeaction. 

3. Sea-Bathing. 
'a. General Principles. 

b. Linen. 

c. Cotton. 

d. Woolen. 

e. Flannel. 

f. Color of Clothing 

g. Structure of Clothint 
{h. Insufficient Clothing. 

' 1. Erysipelas. 

2. Dropsy. 

3. Coras. 

4. In-growing Nails. 
i 5 Warts. 

I 6. Chilblains. 
L 7. Wens. 



4. Clothing. 



JT 



THE SKIN. 



THE Skin is a tough, thin, close-fitting garment 
for the protection of the tender flesh. Its per- 
fect elasticity beautifully adapts it to every motion 
of the body. We shall learn hereafter that it is 
more than a mere covering, being an active organ, 
which does its part in the work of keeping in order 
the house in which we live. It oils itself to preserve 
its smoothness and delicacy, replaces itself as fast 
as it wears out, and is at once the perfection of use 
and beauty. 

1. STRUCTURE OF THE SKIN. 

Cutis and Cuticle. — What we commonly call the 
skin— viz., the part raised by a blister— is only the 
cuticle * or covering of the cutis or true skin. The 
latter is full of nerves and blood-vessels, while the 
former neither bleeds f nor gives rise to pain, 
neither suffers from heat nor feels the cold. 

The cuticle is composed of small, flat cells or 

* Cuticula, little skin. It is often styled the scarf-skin, and also the epidermis 
{epi^ upon ; and derma^ skin). 

t We notice this in shaving ; for if a razor goes below the cuticle it is followed by 
pain and blood. So insensible is this outer layer that we can run a pin through the 
thick mass at the roots of the nails without discomfort. 



50 




A represents a veHicdl section of the cuticle. B. lateral view of the , 
of scales like d, magnijied 250 diameters, showing the nucleated cells transformed into 
broad scales. 



scales. These are constantly shed from the surface 
in the form of scurf, dandruff, etc., hut are as con- 
stantly renewed from the cutis * below. 

Under the microscope, we can see the round cells 
of the cuticle, and how they are flattened and 
hardened as they are forced to the surface. The 
immense number of these cells surpasses compre- 
hension. In one square inch of the cuticle, counting 
only those in a single layer, there are over a bil- 
lion horny scales, each complete in itself. — Harting. 

Value of the Cuticle. — In the palm of the hand, 
the sole of the foot, and other parts especially liable 
to injury, the cuticle is very thick. This is a most 
admirable provision for their protection, f By use, it 
becomes callous and horny. The boy who goes out 
barefoot for the first time, ''treading as if on eggs," 



* We see how rapidly this change goes on by noticing how soon a stain of any 
kind disappears from the skin. A snake throws off its cuticle entire, and at regular 
intervals. 

t We can hold the hand in strong hrine with impunity, but the smart will quickly 
tell us when there is even a scratch in the skin. In vaccination, the matter must be 
inserted beneath the cuticle to take effect. Doubtless this membrane prevents many 
poisonous substances from entering the system. 



HAIR AND NAILS. 51 

can soon run where he pleases among thistles and 
over stones. The blacksmith handles hot iron 
without pain, while the mason lays stones and 
works in lime, without scratching or corroding his 
flesh. 

The Complexion.— In the freshly -made cells on the 
lower side of the cuticle, is a pigment composed of 
tiny grains.* In the varying tint of this coloring- 
matter, lies the difference of hue between the blonde 
and the brunette, the European and the African. 
In the purest complexion, there is some of this pig- 
ment, which, however, disappears as the fresh, 
round, soft cells next the cutis change into the old, 
flat, horny scales at the surface. 

Scars are white, because this part of the cuticle is 
not restored. The sun has a powerful effect upon 
the coloring-matter, and so we readily ^^tan" on 
exposure to its rays. If the color gathers in spots, 
it forms freckles, f 

2. HAIR AND NAIL'S. 

The Hair and the Nails are modified forms of the 
cuticle. 



* These grains are about ooW of an inch in diameter, and, curiously enough, do not 
appear opaque but transparent and nearly colorless.— i/arsAa^^, 

t This action of the sun on the pigment of the skin is very marked. Even among 
the Africans, the skin is observed to lose its intense black color in those vpho live for 
many months in the shades of the forest. It is said that Asiatic and African women 
confined vi'ithin the walls of the harem, and thus secluded from the sun, are as fair as 
Europeans. Among the Jews who have settled in Northern Europe, are many of 
light complexion, while those who live in India are as dark as the Hindoos. The 
blnck pigment has been known to disappear during severe illness, and a lighter color 
to be developed in its place. Among the negroes, are sometimes found people who 
have no complexion, i. e., there is no coloring-matter in their skin, hair, or the irig 
of their eyes. These persons are called Albinos, 



62 



THE SKm. 




The Hair is a protection from 
heat and cold, and shields the 
head from blows. It is found on 
nearly all parts of the body, except 
the palms of the hands and the 
soles of the feet. The outside of a 
hair is hard and compact, and con- 
sists of a layer of colorless scales, 
which overlie one another like the 
shingles of a house ; the interior 
is porous,* and probably conveys 
the liquids by which it is nour- 
ished. 
Each hair grows from a tiny 
bulb (papilla), which is an elevation of the cutis at 
the bottom of a little hollow in the skin. From the 
surface of this bulb, the hair is produced, like the 
cuticle, by the constant formation of new cells at 
the bottom. When the hair is pulled out, this bulb, 
if uninjured, will produce a new one ; but, when 
once destroyed, it will never grow again, f The hair 
has been known to whiten in a single night by fear, 
fright, or nervous excitement. When the color has 
once changed, it cannot be restored. J 



A hair magvijied 600 
diameters. S, the sac (fol- 
licle); P, the papilla, show- 
ing the cells and the blood- 
vessels (V). 



* In order to examine a hair, it should be put on the slide of the microscope, and 
covered with a thin glass, while a few drops of alcohol are allowed to flow between 
the cover and the slide. This causes the air, which fills the hair and prevents our 
seeing its structure, to escape. 

t The hair is said to grow after death. This is due to the fact that by the shrink- 
ing of the skin the part below the surface is caused to project, which is especially 
noticeable in the beard. 

X Hair dyes or so-called " hair restorers " are almost it variably deleterious sub- 
stances, depending for their coloring properties ui)on the action of lead or lunar 
caustic. Frequent instances of hair-poisoning have occurred, owing to the com- 
mon use of such dangerous articles. If the growth of the hair be impaired, the 
general constitution or the skin needs treatment. This is the work of a skillful 



J 



THE NAILS. 



53 



Fig. 2U. 



^^^"^ 




Wherever hair exists, tiny muscles are found, in- 
terlaced among the fibers of the skin. These, when 
contracting under the influ- 
ence of cold or electricity, 
pucker up the skin, and cause 
the hair to stand on end.* 
The hairs themselves are des- 
titute of feeling. IS'erves, 
however, are found in the 
hollows in which the hair is 
rooted, and so one feels pain 
when it is pulled, f Thus 
the insensible hairs become 
wonderfully delicate instru- 
ments to convey an impres- 
sion of even the slightest 
touch. 

Next to the teeth and 
bones, the hair is the least 
destructible part of the body, 
and its color is often pre- 
served for many years after 
the other portions have gone 
to decay. J 



i 



p 




A, a inrspiratory tube with its 
gland ; B, a hair with a muscle 
and two oii-qlands : C, cuticle ; 
D, the papilloe. ; and E, fat-cells. 



physician, and not of a patent remedy. Dame Fashion has her repentant freaks as 
well as her ruinous follies, and it is a healthful sign tliat the era of universal hair- 
dyeing has been blotted out from her present calendai-, and the gray hairs of age are 
now honored with the highest place in " style '' as well as in good sense and clean- 
liness. 

* In horses and other animals which are able to shake the whole skin, to drive 
away the flies, this muscular tissue is much more fully developed than in man. 

t These nerves are especially abundant in the whiskers of the cat, which are used 
as feelers. 

X Fine downy hairs so general upon the body have been detected in the little 
fragments of skin found beneath the heads of the nails by which, centuries ago. cer- 
tain robbers were fastened to the church doors, as a punishment for their sacrilege. 



54 THE SKIN. 

The Nails protect the ends of the tender finger, and 
toe, and give us power more firmly to grasp and 
easily to pick up any object we may desire. They 
enable us to perform a hundred little, mechanical 
acts which else were impossible. At the same time, 
their delicate color and beautiful outline give a finish 
of ornament to that exquisite instrument, the hand. 
The nail is firmly set in a groove (matrix) in the 
cuticle, from which it grows at the root in length * 
and from beneath in thickness. So long as the ma- 
trix at the root is uninjured, the nail will be replaced 
after any accident. 



3. THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE. . 

Structure.— At the edges of the openings into the 
body, the skin seems to stop and give place to a 
tissue which is redder, more sensitive, more liable to 
bleed, and is moistened by a fluid, or mucus as it is 
called. Really, however, the skin does not cease, 
but passes into a more delicate covering of the same 
general composition, viz., an outer, hard, bloodless, 
insensible layer, and an inner, soft, sanguine, ner- 
vous one. t Thus every part of the body is contained 
in a kind of double bag, made of the tough skin on 
the outside, and the tender mucous membrane on 
the inside. 

Connective Tissue. — The cutis and the correspond- 

* By making a little mark on the nail near the root we can see week by week 
how rapidly this process goes on. and so form some idea of what a multitude of cells 
must be transformed into the horny matter of the nail. 

t With a dull knife, we can scrape from the mucous membrane which lines the 
mouth some of the cuticle for examination under the microscope. In a similar way, 
we can obtain cuticle from the surface of the body for study and comparison. 



THE MUCOUS MEMBRANE. 55 

ing layer of the mucous membrane consist chiefly of 
a fibrous substance interlaced like felt. It is called 
connective tissue, because it connects all the differ- 
ent parts of the body. It spreads from the cutis, 
invests muscles, bones, and cartilages, and thence 
passes into the mucous membrane. So thoroughly 
does it permeate the body, that, if the other tissues 
were destroyed, it would give a perfect model of 
every organ. * It can be seen in a piece of meat as 
a delicate substance lying between the layers of 
muscle, where it serves to bind together the numer- 
ous fibers of which they are composed, f 

Connective tissue yields gelatine on boiling, and 
is the part which tans when hides are manufactured 
into leather. It is very elastic, so that when you 
remove your finger after pressing upon the skin, no 
indentation is left. X It varies greatly in character, 
— from the mucous membrane, where it is soft and 
tender, to the ligaments and tendons which it largely 
composes, where it is strong and dense. § 

* It is curious to notice how our body is wrapped in membrane. On the outside, 
is the sldn protecting from exterior injury, and, on the inside, is the mucous mem- 
brane reaching from the lips to the innermost air-cell of the lungs. Every organ is 
enveloped in its membrane. Every bone has its sheath. Every socket is lined. Even 
the separate fibers of muscles have their covering tissue. The brain and the spinal 
cord are triply wrapped, while the eye is only a membranous globe filled with iiuid. 
These membranes protect and support the organs they enfold, but, with that wise 
economy so characteristic of nature everywhere, they have also an important func- 
tion to perform. They are the fllters of the body. Through their pores pass alike 
the elements of growth, and the returning products of waste. On one side, bathed 
by the blood, they choose from it suitable food for the organ they envelop, and 
many of them in their tiny cells, by some mysterious process, form new products,— put 
the finishing touches, as it were, upon the material ere it is deposited in the body. 

t Sometimes butchers blow air into veal, which fills the tiny cells of this tissue, 
and causes the meat to appear plump. 

t In dropsy, this elasticity is lost by distension, and there is a kind of " pitting," 
as it is called, produced by pressure. 

§ The leather made from this tissue varies as greatly, from the tough, thick ox« 
hide, to the soft, pliable kid and chamois skin. 



56 THE SKIN. 

Fat is deposited as an oil in the cells* of this 
tissue, just beneath the skin (Fig. 24), giving round- 
ness and plumpness to the body, and acting as a 
powerful non-conductor for the retention of heat.f 
It collects as pads in the hollows of the bones, 
around the joints, and between the muscles, causing 
them to glide more easily upon each other. As 
marrow, it nourishes the skeleton, and also dis- 
tributes the shock of any jar the limb may sustain. 

It is noticeable, however, that fat does not gather 
within the cranium, the lungs, or the eyelids, where 
its accumulation would clog the organs. 



4. THE TEETH. 

The Teeth I are thirty-two in all, — there being 
eight in each half -jaw, similarly shaped and ar- 
ranged. In each set of eight, the two nearest the 
middle of the jaw have wide, sharp, chisel-like 
edges, fit for cutting, and hence are called incisors. 
The next corresponds to the great tearing or holding 
tooth of the dog, and is styled the canine, or eye- 
tooth. The next two have broader crowns, with two 

* So tiny are these cells, that there are over 65,000,000 in a cubic inch of fat.— 
Valentine. 

t As the cells of the tissue are kept moistenecl, the liquid does not ooze out, hut, 
on drying, comes to the surface. For this reason, a piece of fat feels oily when 
exposed to the air. 

% Although the teeth are always found iu connection v,'ith the skeleton, and are, 
therefore, figured as a part of it (Fig. 1), yet they do not properly belong to the bones 
of the body, and are merely set in the solid jaw to insure solidity. They are hard, 
and resemble bony matter, yet they are neither true bone nor arc they formed in the 
same manner. " They are properly appendages of the mucous membrane, and are 
developed from it.'''— Leidy. "They belong to the Tegumentary System, which, 
speaking generally of animals, includes teeth, nails, horns, scales, and hairs."— 
Marshall. They are therefore classed with the mucous membrane, as are the nails 
and hair with the skin. 



THE TEET^. 



57 



points, or cusps, and are hence termed the bicuspids. 
The remaining three are much broader, and, as they 
are used to crush the food, are called the grinders, or 
molars. The incisors and eye-teeth have one fang, 
or root, the others have two or three each. 

The Milk-teeth. — We are provided with two sets 
of teeth. The first, or milk-teeth, are small and only 
twenty in number. In each half -jaw there are two 
incisors, one canine, and two molars. The middle 
incisors are usually cut about the age of seven 
months, the others at nine months, the first molars 
at twelve months, the canines at eighteen months, 
and the remaining molars at two or three years of 
age. The lower teeth precede the corresponding 
upper ones. The time often varies, but the order 
seldom. 

Fig. 25. 



<r^ 





The teeth at the age of six and one-half years. I, the incisors ; O, the canine ; M, 
the molars ; the last molar is the first of the permanent teeth ; F, sacs of the perma- 
nent incisors ; C, of the canine ; B, of the bicuspids ; N, of the 2d molar; the sac of 
the 3d molar is empty.— Marsh. aul. 



The Permanent Teeth. — At six years, when the 
first set is usually still perfect, the jaws contain 
the crowns of all the second, except the wisdom- 
teeth. About this age, to meet the wants of the 
growing body, the crowns of the permanent set 



58 



THE SKIN. 



Fig. 27. 



begin to press against the roots of the milk-teeth, 
which, becoming absorbed, leave the loosened teeth 
to drop out, while the new ones rise and occupy 
their places. * 

The central incisors appear at about seven years 
of age ; the others at eight ; the first bicuspids at 
nine, the second at ten ; the canines at eleven or 
twelve ; the second \ molars at twelve or thirteen, 
and the last, or wisdom-teeth, are sometimes delayed 
until the twenty-second year, or even later. 
Structure of the Teeth. — The interior of the 
tooth consists principally of den- 
tine, a dense substance re- 
sembling bone.t The crown of 
the tooth, which is exposed to 
wear, is protected by a sheath of 
enamel. This is a hard, glisten- 
ing, white substance, contaijiing 
only two and a half per cent, of 
animal matter. The fang is cov- 
ered by a thin layer of true bone 
(cement). 

At the center of the tooth is a 
cavity filled with a soft, reddish- 
white, pulpy substance full of 
blood-vessels and nerves. This 
pulp is very sensitive, and tooth- 
ache is caused by its irritation. 




Vertical section of a Molar 
Tooth, moderately magrdfied. 

a, enamel of the crown, the 
lines of which indicate the 
arrangement of its columns ; 

b, dentine; c, cement; d, 
pulp cavity. 



* If the milk-teeth do not promptly loosen on the appearance of the second set, 
the former should be at once removed to permit the permanent teeth to assume their 
natural places. If any fail to come in regularly, or if they crowd the others, a com- 
petent dentist should be consulted. 

t The first molar appears much earlier. (See Fig. 25.) 

X In the tusk of the elephant this is known as ivory. 



THE TEETH. 59 

The Fitting of the Tooth into the Jaw is a most 
admirable contrivance. It is not set, like a nail in 
wood, having the fang in contact with the bone ; 
but the socket is lined with a membrane which 
forms a soft cushion. While this is in a healthy 
state, it deadens the force of any shock, but, when 
inflamed, becomes the seat of excruciating pain. 

The Decay of the Teeth * is commonly caused (1) 
by portions of the food which become entangled be- 
tween them, and, on account of the heat and 
moisture, quickly decompose ; and (2) by the saliva, 
as it evaporates, leaving on the teeth a sediment, 
which we call tartar. This collects organic mat- 
ter that rapidly changes, and also affords a soil in 
which a sort of fungus speedily springs up. From 
both these causes, the breath becomes offensive, and 
the teeth are injured. 

Preservation of the Teeth. — Children should early 
be taught to brush their teeth at least every morn- 
ing with tepid water, and twice a week with soap 
and powdered orris-root. They should also be in- 
structed to remove the particles of food from 
between the teeth, after each meal, by means of a 
a quill or wooden tooth-pick. 

The enamel once injured is never restored, and 
the whole interior of the tooth is exposed to decay. 



* Unlike the other portions of the body, there is no provision made for any change 
in the permanent teeth. That part, however, which is thus during life most liable to 
change, after death resists it the longest. In deep-sea dredgings teeth are found 
when all traces of the frame to which they belonged have disappeared. Yet hard 
and incorruptible as they seem, their permanence is only relative. Exposed to 
injury and disease, they break or decay. Even if they escape accident, they yet wear 
at the crown, are absorbed at the fang, and, in time, drop out, thus affording another 
of the many signs of the limitations Providence has fixed to the endurance of oar 
bodies and the length of our lives. 



60 THE SKIN. 

We should not, therefore, crack hard nuts, bite 
thread, or use metal tooth-picks, gritty tooth-pow- 
ders, or any acid which ''sets the teeth on edge," 
i. e., that acts upon the enamel. It is well also to 
have the teeth examined yearly by a dentist, that 
any small orifice may be filled, and further' decay 
prevented. 

5. THE GLANDS OF THE SKIN. 

I. The Oil G-lands are clusters of tiny sacs which 
secrete an oil that flows along the duct to the root of 
the hair, and thence oozes out on the cuticle (Fig. 
24. )'^ This is nature's efficient hair-dressing, and 
also keeps the skin soft and flexible. These glands 
are not usually found where there is no hair, as on 
the palm of the hand, and hence at those points 
only can water readily soak through the skin into 
the body. They are of considerable size on the face, 
especially about the nose. When obstructed, their 
contents become hard and dark-colored, and are 
vulgarly called '' worms."! 

II. The Perspiratory Glands are fine tubes about 
-gfo cf an inch in diameter, and a quarter of an inch 
in length, which run through the cutis, and then 
coil up in little bails (Fig. 24). They are found in 
all parts of the body, and in almost incredible num- 
bers. In the palm of the hand, there are about 2,800 
in a single square inch. On the back of the neck 

* This secretion is said to Aarj^ in different persons, and on that account the dog 
is enabled to trace his master by the scent. 

t Though they are not alive, yet, under the microscope, they are sometimes 
found to contain a curious parasite called the pimple-mite, \vhich is supposed to 
consume the superabundant secretion. 



THE ABSORBmG POWER OF THE SKIN. 61 

and trunk, where they are fewest, there are yet 
400 to the square inch. The total number on the 
body of an adult is estimated at about two and a 
half million. If they were laid end to end, they 
would extend nearly ten miles.* The mouths of 
these glands — ''pores," as we commonly call them — 
may be seen with a pocket lens along the fine ridges 
which cover the palm of the hand. 

The Perspiration. — From these openings, there 
constantly passes a vapor, forming what we call the 
insensible perspiration. Exercise or heat causes it 
to flow more freely, when it condenses on the sur- 
face in drops. The perspiration consists of about 
ninety-nine parts water, and one part solid matter. 
The amount varies greatly, but on the average is, 
for an adult, not far from two pounds per day. The 
importance of this constant drainage has been 
shown by frequent experiments. Small animals, as 
the rabbit, when coated with varnish, die within 
twelve hours, f 

The Absorbing Power of the Skin. — We have 
already described two uses of the skin : (1) Its pro- 
tective, (2) its exhaling, and now we come to (3) its 
absorbing power. This is not so noticeable as the 
others, and yet it can be illustrated. Persons fre- 



* The current statement, that they would extend twenty-eight miles, is undoubt- 
edly an exaggeration. Krause estimates the total number at 2,381,248, and the 
length of each coil, when unraveled, at yV of an inch, which would make the total 
length much less than even the statement in the text. Seguin states that the propor- 
tion of impurities thrown off by the skin and the luugs, is eleveirto seven. 

t On an occasion of great solemnity. Pope Leo X. caused a child to be completely 
covered with gold leaf, closely applied to the skin, so as to represent, according to 
the idea of the age, the golden glory of an angel or seraph. Within a few hours 
after this pageant the child died. The ignorant common people of those days attrib 
uted the death to the anger of the Deity, and looked upon it as an evil omen. 



62 THE SKIN. 

quently poison their hands with the common wood- 
ivy. Contagious diseases are caught by touching a 
patient, or even his clothing, especially if there be a 
crack in the cuticle.* Painters absorb so much lead 
through the pores of their hands that they are 
attacked with colic, f Snuff and lard are frequently 
rubbed on the chest of a child suffering with the 
croup, to produce vomiting. It is said that seamen 
in want of water drench their clothing in salt spray, 
and the skin will absorb enough moisture to quench 
thirst (see Lymphatic System). 

By carefully conducted experiments, it has been 
found that the skin acts in the same way as the 
lungs (see Respiration) in absorbing oxygen from 
the air, and giving off carbonic acid to a small 
but appreciable amount. Indeed, the skin has not 
inaptly been styled the third lung. I 

6. HYGIENE. 

Hints about Washing and Bathing. — The moment 
of rising from bed is the proper time for the full 
wash or bath with which one should commence the 
day. The body is then warm, and can endure mod- 

* K one is called upon to handle a dead body, it is well, especially if the person 
has died of a contagious disease, to rub the hand with lard or olive-oil. Poisonous 
matter has been fatally absorbed through the breaking of the cuticle by a hang-nail, 
or a simple scratch. There is a story that Buonaparte, when a lieutenant of artillery, 
in the heat of battle, seized the rammer and worked the gun of an artillery-man who 
had fallen. From the wood which the soldier had used, Buonaparte absorbed a poison 
that gave him a skin-disease, by which he was annoyed the remainder of his life. 

t Cosmetics, hair-dyes, etc., are exceedingly injurious, not only because they tend 
to fill the pores of the skin, but because they often contain poisonous matters that 
may be absorbed into the system, especially if they are in a solution. 

t In some of the lower animals, it plays a still more important part. Progs, 
deprived of their lungs, breathe with almost undiminished activity, and often sur- 
vive for days. 



I 



HYGIENE. 63 

erately cold water better than at any other time ; 
it is relaxed, and needs bracing; and the nerves, 
deadened by the night's repose, require a gentle 
stimulus. If the system be strong enough to resist 
the shock, cold water is the most invigorating ; if 
not, a tepid bath will answer. * 

Before dressing, the whole body should be thor- 
oughly rubbed with a coarse towel or flesh-brush. 
At first, the friction may be unpleasant, but this 
sensitiveness will soon be overcome, and the keenest 
pleasure be felt in the lively glow which follows. 
A bath should not be taken just before nor imme- 
diately after a meal, as it will interfere with the 
digestion of the food. Soap should be employed 
occasionally, but its frequent use tends to make the 
skin dry and hard. 

Reaction. — After taking a cold bath, there should 
be a prompt reaction. When the surface is chilled 
by cold water, the blood sets to the heart and other 
vital organs, exciting them to more vigorous action, 
and then, being thrown back to the surface, it red- 
dens, warms, and stimulates the skin to an un- 
wonted degree. This is called the reaction, and in 



* Many persons have not the conveniences for a bath. To them, the following 
plan, which the author has daily employed for years, is commended. The necessities 
are : a basin fall of soft water, a mild soap, a large sponge or a piece of flannel, and 
two towels — one soft, the other rough. The temperature of the water should vary 
with the season of the year— cold in summer and tepid in winter. Rub quickly the 
entire body with the wet sponge or flannel. (If more agreeable, wash and wipe only 
a part at a time, protecting the rest in cold weather with portions of clothing.) Dry 
the skin gently with a soft towel, and when quite dry, with the rough towel or 
flesh-brush rub the body briskly four or five minutes till the skin is all aglow. The 
cbest and abdomen need the principal rubbing. The roughness of the towel should 
be accommodated to the condition of the skin. Enough friction, however, must be 
given to produce at least a gentle warmth, indicative of the reaction necessary to 
prevent subsequent chill or languor. An invalid will find it exceedingly beneficial 
if a stout, vigorous person produce the reaction by rubbing with the hands, 



64 THE SKIN. 

it lies the invigorating influence of the cold bath. 
If, on the contrary, the skin be heated by a hot 
bath, the blood is drawn to the surface, less blood 
goes to the heart, the circulation decreases, and lan- 
guor ensues. A dash of cold water is both neces- 
sary and refreshing at its close.* 

If, after a cold bath, there be felt no glow of 
warmth, but only a chilliness and depression, we are 
thereby warned that either proper means were not 
taken to bring on this reaction, or that the circula- 
tion is not vigorous enough to make such a bath 
beneficial. The general effect of a cool bath is 
-exhilarating, and that of a warm one depressing.! 
Hence the latter should not ordinarily be taken 
oftener than once a week, while the former may be 
enjoyed daily. 

Sea-bathing is exceedingly stimulating, on account 
of the action of the salt and the exciting surround- 
ings. Twenty minutes is the utmost limit for bath- 
ing or swimming in salt or fresh water. A chilly 
sensation should be the signal for instant removal. 
It is better to leave while the glow and buoyancy 
which follow the first plunge are still felt. Gentle 
exercise after a bath is beneficial. ' 

* The Enssians are very fond of vapor baths, taken in the following manner. A 
large room is heated by stoves. Red-hot stones being brought in, water is thrown 
upon them, filling the room with steam. The bathers sit on benches until they per- 
spire profusely, when they are rubbed with soapsuds and dashed with cold water. 
Sometimes, while in this state of excessive perspiration, they run out of doors and 
leap into snow-banks. 

t The sudden plunge into a cold bath is good for the strong and healthy, but too 
severe for the delicate. One should always wet first the face, neck, and chest. It is 
extremely injurious to stand in a bath with only 1 he feet and the lower limbs cov- 
ered by the water, for the blood is thus sent from the extremities to the heart and 
internal organs, and they become so burdened that reaction may be out of their 
power. A brisk walk, or a thorough rubbing of the skin, before a cold bath or swim, 
adds greatly to its value and pleasure, 



1 



HYGIENE. 65 

Clothing in winter, to keep us warm, should repel 
the external cold and retain the heat of the body. 
In summer, to keep us cool, it should not absorb the 
rays of the sun, and should permit the passage of 
the heat of the body. At all seasons, it should be 
porous, to give ready escape to the perspiration, and 
a free admission of air to the skin. We can readily 
apply these essential conditions to the different 
kinds of clothing. 

Linen is soft to the touch, and is a good conductor 
of heat. Hence it is pleasant for summer wear, but, 
being apt to chill the surface too rapidly, it should 
not be worn next the skin. 

Cotton is a poorer conductor of heat and absorber 
of moisture, and is therefore warmer than linen. It 
is sufficiently cool for summer wear, and affords bet- 
ter protection against sudden changes. 

Woolen absorbs moisture slowly, and contains 
much air in its pores. It is therefore a poor conduc- 
tor of heat, and guards the wearer against the 
vicissitudes of our climate. ^ 

The outer clothing may be adapted largely to 
ornament, and may be varied to suit our fancy and 
the requirements of society. But the body should 
be protected by plentiful under-clothing, which 
should be of itself sufficient to keep us warm. 
Flannel should be worn next the skin at all times, 
except in the heat of summer, when cotton flannel 
may be substituted. In the coldest weather, it 
should be doubled. Its roughness is sometimes 
disagreeable, but habit soon overcomes this sensi- 
tiveness, and renders it exceedingly grateful. 



66 THE SKIN. 

Light-colored clothing is not only cooler in sum- 
mer, but warmer in winter. As the warmth of 
clothing depends greatly on the amount of air con- 
tained in its fibers, fine, loose, porous cloth with 
a plenty of nap is best for winter wear. Firm 
and heavy goods are not necessarily the warmest. 
Furs are the perfection of winter clothing, since 
they combine warmth with lightness. Two light 
woolen garments are warmer than one heavy one, 
as there is between them a layer of non-conduct- 
ing air. 

All the body except the head should be equally 
protected by clothing. Whatever fashion may dic- 
tate, no part covered to-day can be uncovered to- 
night or to-morrow, except at the peril of health. 
It is a most barbarous and cruel custom to leave the 
limbs of little children unprotected, when adults 
would shiver at the very thought of exposure. 
Equally so is it for children to be thinly clad for the 
purpose of hardening them. To go shivering with 
cold is not the way to increase one's power of endur- 
ance. The system is made more vigorous by exer- 
cise and food ; not by exposure. In winter, there is 
more fear of too little than too much clothing. 
Above all, the feet need heavy shoes with thick 
soles, and rubbers when it is damp. At night, and 
after exercise, we require extra clothing. 

Diseases, etc. — Erysipelas is an inflammation (see 
Inflammation) of the skin, and often begins in a 
spot not larger than a pin-head, which spreads with 
great rapidity. It is very commonly checked by 
the application of a solution of iodine. The burn- 



DISEASES. 67 

ing and contracting sensation may be relieved by 
cloths wrung out of hot water. 

2. Dropsy is a disease in which there is an accu- 
mulation of water in the system. On account of the 
free passage between the cells of the connective tis- 
sue, this liquid gradually settles into the feet when 
the person is standing ; on reclining, the equilibrium 
is restored. 

3. Corns are a thickened part of the cuticle, 
caused by pressure or friction. They most fre- 
quently occur on the feet ; but are produced on the 
shoemaker's knee by constant hammering, and on 
the soldier's shoulder by the rubbing of his mus- 
ket. This hard portion irritates the sensitive cutis 
beneath, and so causes pain. By soaking the feet 
in hot water, the corn will be softened, when it 
may be pared with a sharp knife. If the cause be 
removed, the corn will not return. 

4. In-growing Nails are caused by pressure, 
which forces the edge of the toe-nail into the flesh. 
They may be cured by carefully cutting away the 
part which has mal-grown, and then scraping the 
back of the nail till it is thin and no longer resists 
the pressure. The two portions, uniting, will draw 
away the nail from the flesh at the edge. They are 
prevented by paring the nail straight across, thus 
making the corners right angles, and by wearing 
broad shoes. 

5. Warts are overgrown papillae (Fig. 24.). They 
may generally be removed by the application of 
glacial acetic acid, or a drop of nitric acid, repeated 
until the entire structure is softened. Care must be 



68 THE SKIN. 

taken to keep the acid from touching the neighbor- 
ing skin. The capricious character of warts has 
given rise to the popular delusion concerning the 
influence of charms upon them. 

6. Chilblain is a local inflammation affecting 
generally the feet, the hands, or the lobes of the ear. 
Liability to it usually passes away with manhood. 
It is not caused by ''freezing the feet/' as many 
suppose, though attacks are brought on, or aggra- 
vated, by exposure to cold and by sudden warming. 
It is subject to daily congestion (see Congestion), 
manifested by itching, soreness, etc., commonly 
occurring at night. The best preventive is a uniform 
temperature, and careful protection against the cold 
by warm, loose, and plentiful clothing, especially 
for the feet. 

7. Wens are caused by an unnatural activity of 
the arteries, which deposit more nutriment than is 
needed. Physicians " scatter them," as it is termed, 
by stimulating the absorbents to carry off the excess. 
A boil often disappears without '' coming to a head " 
in a somewhat similar way, i. e., by the renewed 
activity of the absorbing vessels. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

1. If a hair be plucked out, will it grow again ? 

2. What causes the hair to " stand on end " when we are fright- 
ened? 

E. Why is the skin roughened by riding in the cold ? 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 69 

4. Why is the back of a washer- woman's hand less water-soaked 
than the palm ? 

5. What would be the length of the perspiratory tubes in a single 
square inch of the palm, if placed end to end ? 

6. What colored clothing is best adapted to all seasons? 

7. What is the efEect of paint and powder on the skin ? 

8. Is water-proof clothing healthful for constant wear ? 

9. Why are rubbers cold to the feet ? 

] 0. Why does the heat seem oppressive when the air is moist ? 

11. Why is friction of the skin invigorating after a cold bath? 

12. Why does the hair of domestic animals become roughened in 
winter ? 

13. Why do fowls shake out their feathers erect before they perch 
for the night ? 

14. How can an extensive burn cause death by congestion of the 
lungs ? 

15. Why do we perspire so profusely after drinking cold water ? 

16. What are the best means of preventing skin-diseases, colds, and 
rheumatism? 

17. What causes the difference between the hard hand of a black- 
smith and the soft hand of a woman ? 

18. Why should a painter avoid getting paint on the palm of his 
hand? 

19. Why should we not use the soap or the soiled towel at a hotel? 

20. Which teeth cut like a pair of scissors ? 

21. Which teeth cut like a chisel ? 

22. Which should be clothed the warmer, a merchant or a farmer ? 

23. Why should we not crack nuts with our teeth ? 

24. Do the edges of the upper and the lower teeth meet ? 

25. When fatigued, would you take a cold bath ? 

26. Why is the outer surface of a kid glove finer than the 
inner ? 

27. Why will, a brunette endure the sun's rays better than a 
blonde ? 

28. Does patent-leather form a healthful covering for the feet ? 



70 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

29. Why are men more frequently bald than women? 

30. On what part of the head does baldness commonly occur? 
Why? 

31. What does the combination in our teeth of canines and grinders 
suggest as to the character of our food ? 

32. Is a staid, formal promenade suitable exercise ? 

33. Is there any danger in changing the warm clothing of our daily 
wear for the thin one of a party ? 

34. Should we retain our overcoat, shawl, or furs when we come 
into a warm room ? 

35. Which should bathe the oftener, students or out-door labor- 
ers? 

36. Is abundant perspiration injurious ? 

37. How often should the ablution of the entire body be performed ? 

38. Why is cold water better than warm, for our daily ablution ? 

39. Why should our clothing always fit loosely ? 

40. Why should we take special pains to avoid clothing that is 
colored by poisonous dye-stuflFs ? 

41. \^Tiat general principles should guide us as to the length and 
frequency of baths in salt or fresh water ? 

42. What is the beneficial effect of exercise upon the functions of the 
skin? 

43. How can we best show our admiration and respect for the human 
body? 

44. Why is the scar of a severe wound upon a negro sometimes 
white ? 



RESPIRATION 

AND 

THE VOICE. 



The smooth soft air with pulse-like waves 
Floivs miinmiring through its hidden caves, 
Whose streams of brightening ptirple rttsh, 
Fired with a new and livelier blush ; 
While all their burthen of decay 
The ebbing current steals away. " 



BL^CKBO^RD ANALYSIS. 



1. Organs of Voice 



a 



The Larynx. 

2. The Yocal Cords. 

3. Different Tones of Voice. 

4. Speech. 

Formation of Vocal Sounds. 



Organs of Respira- 

TIOK. 



f 1, The Trachea. 
I 2. The Bronchial Tubes. 
-{ 3. The Ceil?. 
I 4. The Lung- wrapping. 
5. The Cilia. 



How We Breathe. 



4. Modifications of the 
Breath. 



J 1. Inspiration. 
I 2. Expiration. 

1. Sighing. 

2. Coughing. 

3. Sneezing. 

4. Snoring. 

5. Laughing, and Crying. 

6. Hiccough. 

7. Yawning. 



5. Capacity or the Lungs. 



6. Hygiene. 



1. The Need of Air. 

2. Action of Air in the Lungs. 

3. Tests of the Breath. 

4. Analysis of expired Air. 

5. Effect of re-breathed Air. 

fa. The Sources of Im- 
I purity. 

b. The Sick-room. 
fi CnnpemiiiP- the Need ^- '^^^ Sitting-room. 
of Ventflaffon ^ ^- ^he Bed-room, 
ot Ventilation. , ^^ r^j^^ Church. 

f. The School-room. 
! g. How we should 
V ventilate. 



7. The Wonders of Respiration. 



8. Diseases. 



f 1. Constriction of the Lungs. 

2. Bronchitis. 

3. Pleurisy. 

4. Pneumonia. 

5. Consumption. 
6 Asphyxia. 

7. Diphtheria. 

8. Croup. 

[ 9. Stammering. 



RESPIRATION 



AND 



THE VOICE 



rriHE Organs of Respiration and the Voice are 
-L the larynx, the trachea, and the lungs. 

Description of the Organs of the Voice.— 1. The 
Larynx. — In the neck, is a prominence some- 
times called Adam's apple. It is the front of the 
larynx. This is a small triangular, cartilaginous box, 
placed just behind the tongue, and at the top of the 
windpipe. The opening into it from the throat is 
called the glottis ; and the cover, the epiglottis {epi, 
upon ; glotta, the tongue). The latter is a spoon- 
shaped lid, which opens when we breathe, but, by a 
nice arrangement, shuts when we try to swallow, 
and so lets our food slip over it into the oesopliagus 
(e-sof'-a-gus), the tube leading from the pharynx 
to the stomach (Fig. 27). 

If we laugh or talk when we swallow, our food is 
apt to "go the wrong way," i. e., little particles pass 
into the larynx, and the tickling sensation which 



74: 



RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 



7. ^7. 




Passage to the (Esophagus and Windpipe : c, the tongvs ; d, the soft palate, ending 
in g, the uvula ; h, the epiglottis ; i, th£ glottis ; I, th£ oesophagus; f, the phai'ynx. 



they produce forces us to cough in order to expel 
the intruders. 

2. The Vocal Cords. — On each side of the glottis 
are the so-called vocal cords. They are not really 
cords, but merely elastic membranes projecting from 
the sides of the box across the opening. * When not 
in use, they spread apart and leave a V-shaped orifice 
(Fig. 28), through which the air passes to and from 
the lungs. If the cords are tightened, the edges 



* The cartilages and vocal cords of the larynx may be readily seen in that of 
the ox or sheep. If the flesh be cut off, the cartilages will dry, and will keep 
for years. 



DIFFERENT TONES OF THE VOICE. 



75 




e, e, the vocal cords ; d, 
epiglottis. 



approach sometimes within ^o^ ^'^- ^^• 

of an inch of each other, and, 

being thrown into vibration, 

cause corresponding vibrations 

in the current of air. Thus 

sound is produced in the same 

manner as by the vibrations of 

the tongues of an accordeon, or 

the strings of a violin, only in 

this case the strings are scarcely 

an inch long. 

Different Tones of the Voice. 
— The higher tones of the voice are produced when 
the cords are short, tight, and closely in contact ; the 
lower, by the opposite conditions. Loudness is regu- 
lated by the quantity of air and force of expulsion. 
A falsetto voice is thought to be the result of a 
peculiarity in the pharynx (Fig. 27) at the back part 
of the nose ; it is more probably produced by some 
muscular manoeuvre not yet fully understood. When 
boys are about fourteen years of age, the larynx 
enlarges, and the cords grow proportionately longer 
and coarser ; hence, the voice becomes deeper, or, as 
we say, ^* changes." The peculiar harshness of the 
voice at this time seems to be due to a congestion of 
the mucous membrane of the cords. The change 
may occur very suddenly, the voice breaking in a 
single night. 

Speech is voice modulated by the lips, tongue,* 



* The tongue is styled the " unruly member," and held respousible for all the 
tatthng of the world ; but when the tongue is removed, the adjacent organs in some 
way largely supply the deficiency, so that speech is still possible. Huxley describes 
the conversation of a man who had two and one-half inches of his tongue preserved 



76 



RESPIRATION AXD THE VOICE. 



palate, and teeth. * It is' commonly associated with 
the voice, but is not necessary to it ; for when we 
whisper we articulate the words, although there is 
no vocalization, i. e., no action of the larynx, f 

Fig. 29. 




The Lungs., showing the Larynx. A, the windpipe : B, the brvnchial tubes. 



in spirit?, and yet conld converse intelligibly. Only the two letters t and d were 
beyond Ms power ; hence, tin became " fin," and dog became " thog." 

* An artificial larynx may be made by using elastic bands to represent the vocal 
cords, and by placing above them chambers which by their resonance will produce 
the same eff'ect as the cavities lying above the larynx. An artificial speaking- 
machine was constructed by Kempelen. which could pronounce such sentences as, 
" I love you with all my heart," in different languages, by simply touching the 
proper keys. 

+ We can observe this by placing the hand on the throat, and noticing the absence 
of vibrations when we whisper, and their presence when we talk. The difference 
between vocalization and non-vocalization is seen in a sigh and a groan, the latter 



DESCRIPTION OF THE ORGANS OF RESPIRATION. 77 

Formation of Vocal Sounds. — The method of mod- 
ulating voice into speech may be seen by producing 
the pure vowel sounds a, e, etc. , from one expiration, 
the mouth being kept open while the form of the 
aperture is changed for each vowel by the tongue 
and the lips. H is only an explosion, or forcible 
throwing of a vowel sound from the mouth. * 

The consonants, or short sounds, may also be made 
without interrupting the current of air, by various 
modifications of the vocal organs. In sounding 
singly any one of the letters, we can detect its pecu- 
liar requirements. Thus m and n can be made only 
by blocking the air in the mouth and sending it 
through the nose ; I lets the air escape at the sides 
of the tongue ; r needs a vibratory movement of 
the tongue ; b and p stop the breath at the lips ; 
d and t, at the back of the palate. Consonants like 
b and d are abrupt, or, like I and s, continuous. 
Those made by the lips are termed labials ; those by 
pressing the tongue against the teeth, dentals ; those 
by the tongue. Unguals. 

The child gains speech slowly, first learning to 
pronounce the vowel a, the consonants b, m, and p, 
and then their unions — ba, ma, pa. 

Description of the Organs of Respiration. — Beneath 
the larynx is the wind-pipe, or trachea (see Fig. 29^, 
so called because of its roughness. It is strength- 
being the former vocalized'. Whistling is a pure mouth-sonnd, and does not depend 
on the voice. Laughter Is vocal, being the aspirated vowels, a, e, or o, convulsively 
repeated. 

* When, in sounding a vowel, the sound coincides with a sudden change in the 
position of the vocal cords from one of divergence to one of approximation, the 
vowel is pronounced with the spiritus asper. When the vocal cords are brought 
together before the blast of air begins, the vowel is pronounced with the spiritus 
lenis .—Foster. 



78 



RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 



Fig. 



ened by O- shaped cartilages with the openings 
behind, where they are attached to the oesophagus. 

At the lower end, the tra- 
chea divides into two 
branches, called the right 
and left bronchi. These 
subdivide in the small 
bronchial tubes, which 
ramify through the lungs 
like the branches of a 
tree, the tiny twigs of 
which at last end in clus- 
ters of cells so small that 
there are 600,000,000 in 
all. This cellular struc- 
ture renders the lungs 
exceedingly soft, elastic, 
and sponge-like.* 
The stiff, cartilaginous rings, so noticeable in the 
rough surface of the trachea and the bronchi, dis- 
appear as we reach the smaller bronchial tubes, so 
that while the former are kept constantly open for 
the free admission of air, the latter are provided with 
elastic fibers by which they may be almost closed. 

Wrappings of the Lungs. — The lungs are invested 
with a double covering — the pleura — one layer being 
attached to the lungs and the other to the walls of 
the chest. It secretes a fluid which lubricates it, so 
that the layers glide upon each other with perfect 




Bronchial Tubes, with clusters of cells. 



* The lungs of slaughtered animals arc vulgarly called ••lights," probably on 
account of their lightness. They are similar in structure to those of man. They 
will float on water, and if a small piece be forcibly squeezed between the fingers 
(notice the creaking sound it gives), it will stUl retain sufficient air to make it 
buoyant. 




79 



A, the heart ; B, the Ivngs drawn aside to shmv the internal organs ; C, th£ dia- 
phragm ; D, the liver ; E, the gall cyst ; F, the stomach ; G, the small intestine ; 
H, the transverse colon. 

ease. * The lungs are lined with mucous membrane, 
exceedingly delicate and sensitive to the presence of 
anything except pure air. We have all noticed this 
when we have breathed anything offensive. 

The Cilia. — Along the air passages are minute 
filaments {cilia, Fig. 32), which are* in constant mo- 
tion, like a field of grain stirred by a gentle breeze. 
They serve to fan the air in the lungs, and produce 
an outward current, which is useful in catching dust 
and fine particles swept inward with the breath. 

* These pleural sacs are distinct and closed ; hence, when the ribs are raised, a 
partial vacuum being formed in the sacs, air rushes in, and distends the pulmonary 
lobules. 



80 



RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 




^^^ ^^- How we Breathe. — Eespira- 

tion consists of two acts — tak- 
ing in the air, or inspiration, 
and expelling the air, or expi- 
ration. 

1. Inspiration. — When we 
draw in a full breath, we 
straighten the spine and throw 
the head and shoulders back, 
so as to give the greatest ad- 
vantage to the muscles.* At 
the same time, the diaphragm f descends and presses 
the walls of the abdomen outward. Both these 
processes increase the size of the chest. Thereupon, 
the elastic lungs expand to occupy the extra space, 
while the air, rushing in through the windpipe, 
pours along the bronchial tubes and crowds into 
every cell.]: 
2. Expiration. — When we forcibly expel the air 



B, a section of^ the tnucous 
memtnune, showing the cilia 
rising from the peculiar epithe- 
lial cells on the outside of the 
mucous membrane lining the 
tubes ; A, a single cell more 
highly magnified. 



* If we examine the bony cage of the thorax or chest in Fig. 8, we shall see that 
the position of the ribs may alter its capacity in two ways. 1. As they run obliquely 
downward from the spine, if the sternum or breast-bone be lifted in front, the 
diameter of the chest will be increased. 2. The ribs are fastened by elastic carti- 
lages, which stretch as the muscles that lift the ribs contract, and so increase the 
breadth of the chest. 

t The diaphragm is the muscular partition between the chest and the abdomen. 
It is always convex toward the former and concave toward the latter (Fig. 31). Long 
muscular fibers extend from its center toward the ribs in front and the spine at the 
back. When these contract, they depress and flatten the diaphragm ; when they 
relax, it becomes convex again. In the former case, the bowels are pressed down- 
ward and the abdomen pushed outward ; in the latter, the bowels spring upward, 
and the abdomen is drawn inward. 

? It is said that in drawing a full breath, the muscles exert a force equal to raising 
a weight of 750 pounds. When we are about to make a great effort, as in striking a 
heavy blow, we naturally take a deep inspiration, and shut the glottis. The confined 
air makes the chest tense and firm, and enables us to exert a greater force. As we 
let slip the blow, the glottis opens and the air escapes, often with a curious aspirated 
sound, as is noticeable in workmen. To make a good shot with a rifle, we should 
take aim with a full chest and tight breath, since then the arms will have a steadier 
support. 



MODIFICATIONS OF THE BREATH. 81 

from our lungs, the operation is reversed. We bend 
forward, draw in the walls of the abdomen, and 
press the diaphragm upward, while the ribs are 
pulled downward, — all together diminishing the size 
of the chest, and forcing the air outward. 

Ordinary, quiet breathing is performed mainly by 
the diaphragm, — one breath to every four beats of 
the heart, or eighteen per minute. 

Modifications of the Breath. — Sighing is merely a 
prolonged inspiration followed by an audible expira- 
tion. Coughing is a violent expiration in which the 
air is driven through the mouth. Sneezing differs 
from coughing, the air being forced through the 
nose. Snoring is a sleeping accompaniment, in 
which the air passes through both nose and mouth. 
The peculiar sound is produced by the palate flap- 
ping in this divided current of air, and so throwing 
it into vibration. Laughing and crying are very 
much alike. The expression of the face is necessary 
to distinguish between them. The sounds are pro- 
duced by short, rapid contractions of the diaphragm. 
Hiccough is confined to inspiration. It is caused by 
a contraction of the diaphragm and a constriction of 
the glottis ; the current of air just entering, as* it 
strikes the closed glottis, gives rise to the well-known 
sound. Yawning, or gaping, is like sighing.* It is 
distinguished by a wide opening of the mouth and 
a deep, profound inspiration. Both processes furnish 
additional air, and therefore probably meet a demand 

* Their usefulness lies in bringing up the arrears, as it were, of respiration, when 
it has fallen behindhand either through fatigue or close attention to other occupa- 
tion. The stretching of the jaws and limbs may also serve to equalize the nervous 
influence, certain muscles having become uneasy on account of being stretched or 
contracted for a long time. 



82 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 

of the system for more oxygen. Frequently, how- 
ever, they are like laughing, sobbing, etc., merely a 
sort of contagion, which runs through an audience, 
and seems almost irresistible. ^ 

The Capacity of the Lungs.— If we take a deep 
inspiration, and then forcibly exhale all the air we 
can expel from the lungs, this amount, which is 
termed the breathing capacity, will bear a very close 
correspondence to our stature. For a man of medium 
height (5 ft. 8 in.) it will be about 230 cubic inches,* 
or a gallon, and for each inch of height between ^yq 
and six feet there will be an increase of eight cubic 
inches. In addition, it is,found that the lungs con- 
tain about 100 cubic inches which cannot be expelled, 
thus making their entire contents about 330 cubic 
inches, or eleven pints. The extra amount always 
on hand in the lungs is of great value, since thereby 
the action of the air goes on continuously, even 
during a violent expiration. In ordinary breathing, 
only about twenty or thirty cubic inches (less than a 
pint) of air pass in and out. 

The Need of Air. — The body needs food, clothing, 
sunshine, bathing, and drink ; but none of these 
wants is so pressing as that for air. The other de- 
mands may be met by occasional supplies, but air 
must be furnished every moment or we die. Now 
the vital element of the atmosphere is oxygen gas.f 

* Of this amount, 100 cubic inches can be forced in only by an extra effort, and is 
available for emergencies, or for purposes of training, as in singing, climbing, etc. 
It is of great importance, since, ^ the capacity of the lungs only equaled our daily 
wants, the least obstruction would prove fatal. 

t See Steele's Chemistru, page 43. The atmosphere consists of one-fifth oxygen 
and four-fifths nitrogen. The former is the active element ; and the latter, the 
passive. Oxygen alone would be too stimulating, and must be restrained by the 
neutral nitrogen. 



ANALYSIS OF THE EXPIRED AIR. 83 

This is a stimulating, life-giving principle. No tonic 
will so invigorate as a few full, deep breaths of cold, 
pure air. Every organ will glow with the energy of 
the fieyy oxygen. 

Action of the Air in the Lungs.— In the delicate 
cells of the lungs, the air gives up its oxygen to the 
blood, and receives in turn carbonic-acid gas and 
water, foul with waste matter which the blood has 
picked up in its circulation through the body. The 
blood, thus purified and laden with the inspiring 
oxygen, goes bounding through the system, while 
the air we exhale carries off the impurities. In this 
process, the blood changes from purple to red. If 
we examine our breath, we can readily see what it 
has removed from the blood. 

Tests of the Breath. — 1. Breathe into a jar, and 
on lowering into it a lighted candle, the flame will 
be instantly extinguished ; thus indicating the pres- 
ence of carbonic-acid gas. 2. Breathe upon a mirror, 
and a film of moisture will show the vapor. * 3. If 
the breath be confined in a bottle for a time, the 
animal matter will decompose and give off an offen- 
sive odor. 

Analysis of the Expired Air shows that it has lost 
about twenty-five per cent, of its oxygen, and gained 
an equal amount of carbonic-acid gas, besides 
moisture, and organic impurities. Our breath, then, 
is air robbed of its vitality, and containing in its 

* There is a close relation between the functior|^ of the skin, the lungs, and the 
kidneys— the scavengers of the body. They all carry oft' water from the blood, 
and when the function of one of the three is, in this respect, interfered with, the 
others are called upon to perform its functions. When the function of perspiration 
is deranged, the lungs and kidneys are required to perform heavier duty, and this 
may lead to disease (p. 61). 



84 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 

place a gas as fatal to life * as it is to a flame, and 
effete matter which is disagreeable to the smell, 
injurious to the health, and may contain, the germs 
of ^disease. 

The Evil Efifect of Re-breathing the air cannot be 
over-estimated. We take back into our bodies that 
which has just been rejected. The blood thereupon 
leaves the lungs, bearing, not the invigorating 
oxygen, but refuse matter to obstruct the whole sys- 
tem. We soon feel the effect. The muscles become 
inactive. The blood stagnates. The heart acts 
slowly. The food is undigested. The brain is 
clogged. The head aches. Instances of fatal results 
are only too frequent, f The constant breathing of 
even the slightly-impure air of our houses cannot 
but tend to undermine the health. The blood is not 
purified, and is thus in a condition to receive the 
seeds of disease at any time. The system uninspired 
by the energizing oxygen is sensitive to cold. The 
pale cheek, the lustreless eye, the languid step, 
speak but too plainly of oxygen starvation. In such 
a soil, catarrh, scrofula, and consumption run riot. J; 

* Carbonic-acid gas cannot be breathed when undiluted, as tlie glottis closes and 
forbids its passage into the lungs. Air containing only three or four per cent, acts 
as a narcotic poison {Miller), and a much smaller proportion will have an injurious 
eflfect. The great danger, however, lies in the organic particles constantly exhaled 
from the lungs and the skin, Avhich, it is believed, are often direct and active 
poisons. 

t During the English war in India in the last century, 146 prisoners were sbut up 
in a room scarcely large enough to hold them. The air could enter only by two nar- 
row windows. At the end of eight hours, but twenty-three persons remained alive, 
and these Avere in a most deplorable condition. This prison is well. called "The 
Black Hole of Calcutta."— Percy relates that after the battle of Austerlitz, 300 Rus- 
sian prisoners were confined in a cavern, where 260 of thera perished in a few hours. 
— The stupid captain of the ship Londonderry, during a storm at sea, shut the 
hatches. There were only seven cubic feet of space left for each person, and in six 
hours ninety of the passengers were dead. 

X " One not very strong, or unable powerfully to resist conditions unfavorable to 



CONCERNING VENTILATION. 85 

Concerning the Need of Ventilation. — The foul air 
which passes off from the lungs and through the 
pores of the skin does not fall to the floor, but 
diffuses itself through the surrounding atmosphere. 
A single breath will to a trifling but certain extent 
taint the air of a whole room.* A light will vitiate 
as much air as a dozen persons. Many breaths and 
lights therefore rapidly unfit the air for our use. 

The perfection of ventilation is reached when the 
air of a room is as pure as that out of doors. To ac- 
complish this result, it is necessary to allow for each 
person 600 cubic feet of space, while ventilation is 
still going on in the best manner known. 

In spite of these well-known facts, scarcely any 
pains are taken to supply fresh air, while the doors 
and windows where the life-giving oxygen might 
creep in are hermetically stopped. 

How often is this true of the sick-room. Yet here 
the danger of bad air is intensified. The expired 
breath of the patient is peculiarly threatening to 
himself as well as to others. Nature is seeking to 
throw off the poison of the disease. The scavengers 
of the body are all at work. The breath and the in- 
sensible perspiration are loaded with impurities, f 

health, and with a predisposition to lung disease, will be sure, sooner or later, by- 
partial lung- starvation and blood-poisoning, to develop pulmonary consumption. 
The lack of what is so abundant and so cheap — good, pure air— is nnquestioiiably the 
one great cause of this terrible disease.''''— Blade's Ten Laws of Health. 

* This grows out of a well-known philosophical principle called the Diffusion of 
Gases, whereby two gases tend to mix in exact proportions, no matter what may be 
the quantity oi each.— Steele's Chemistry, p. 96. and Physics, p. 49. 

t The floating dust in the air, revealed to us by the sunbeam shining through a 
crack in the blinds, shows the abundance of these impurities, and also the presence 
of germs which, lodging in the lungs, may implant disease, unless thrown off by a 
vigorous constitution. " On uncovering a scarlet-fever patient, a cloud of fine dust 
is seen to rise from the body— contagious dust, that for days will retain its poisonous 
properties."— Youmans. 



86 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 

The odor is oftentimes exceedingly offensive. Sick 
and well alike need an abundance of fresh air. But, 
too often, it is the only want not supplied. 

Our sitting-rooms, heated by furnaces or red-hot 
stoves, generally have no means of ventilation, or, 
if provided, they are seldom used. A window is 
occasionally dropped to give a little relief, as if pure 
air were a rarity, and must be doled out to the suf- 
fering lungs in morsels, instead of full and constant 
draughts. The inmates are starved by scanty lung- 
food, and stupefied by foul air. The process goes on 
year by year. The weakened and poisoned body at 
last succumbs to disease, while we, in our blindness 
and ignorance, talk of the mysterious Providence 
which thus untimely cuts down the brightest intel- 
lects. The truth is, death is often simply the penalty 
for violating nature's laws. Bad air begets disease ; 
disease begets death. 

In our churches, the foul air left by the congrega- 
tion on Sunday is shut up during the week, and 
heated for the next Lord's day, when the people 
assemble to re-breathe the polluted atmosphere. 
They are thus forced, with every breath they take, 
to violate the physical laws of Him whom they meet 
to worship,— laws written not 3000 years ago upon 
Mount Sinai on tables of stone, but to-day engraved 
in the constitution of their own living, breathing 
bodies. On brains benumbed and starving for oxy- 
gen, the purest truth and the highest eloquence fall 
with little force. 

We sleep in a small bed-room from which every 
breath of fresh air is excluded, because we believe 



SCHOOL-ROOM VENTILATION. 87 

night-air to be unhealthy,* and so we breathe its 
dozen hogsheads of air over and over again, and 
then wonder why we awaken in the morning so dull 
and unref reshed ! Return to our room after inhaling 
the fresh, morning air, and the fetid odor we meet on 
opening the door, is convincing proof how we have 
poisoned our lungs during the night. 

Each room should be supplied with 2000 feet of 
fresh air per hour for every person it contains. Our 
ingenuity ought to find some way of doing this 
advantageously and pleasantly. A moiety of the 
care we devote to delicate articles of food, drink, 
and dress would abundantly meet this prime neces- 
sity of our bodies. 

Open the windows a little at the top and the bot- 
tom. Put on plenty of clothing to keep warm by 
day and by night, and then let the inspiring oxygen 
come in as freely as God has given it. Pure air is 
the cheapest necessity and luxury of life. Let it not 
be the rarest ! 

School-room Ventilation. — Who, on going from the 
open air of a clear, bracing winter's day, into a 
crowded school-room, late in the session, has not 
noticed the disagreeable odor, and been for a mo- 
ment nauseated, and half-stifled by the oppressive 
atmosphere ! It is not strange. See how many 
causes here combine to pollute the air. If the room 
is heated by a stove, quantities of carbonic-oxide 



* There is a singular prejudice agaiust the night air. Yot, as Florence Nightin- 
gale aptly says, what other air can we breathe at night? We then have the choice 
"between foul air within and pure air without. For, in large cities especially, the 
night air is far more wholesome than that of the day-time. To secure fresh air all 
night we must open the windows of our bed-room. 



88 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 

and carbonic-acid gases, as well as other products 
of combustion, driven by downward drafts in the 
flue, escape through seams and cracks and the 
occasionally-opened door of the stove. In the case 
of a furnace, the same effect is too often experi- 
enced and the odor of coal-gas is a common one, 
especially when the fire is replenished. The insen- 
sible perspiration is more active in children than in 
adults ; they, moreover, rush in with their clothing 
saturated with the perspiration induced by their 
sports ; so that, on the average, each pupil, during 
school hours, loads the air with about half-a-pint of 
aqueous vapor. The children come, oftentimes, from 
homes that are close, ill-ventilated, and uncleanly ; 
and frequently from sick-rooms, bringing in their 
clothing the germs of disease. Some of the pupils 
may even bear traces of illness, or have unsound 
organs, and so their breath and exhalations be 
poisonous. 

In addition to all this, the air is filled with dust 
brought in and kept astir by many busy feet ; by 
ashes from the stove or furnace ; and especially by 
chalk-dust. The modern method of teaching requires 
a large amount of black-board work and the air of 
the school-room is thus loaded with chalk-particles. 
These collect in the nasal passages, and the upper 
part of the larynx, and irritate the membrane, per- 
haps laying the foundation of catarrh. 

The usual school-room atmosphere bears in the 
pupils the natural fruit of frequent headaches, in- 
attention, weariness, and stupor : but in the teacher 
its frightful influence is most apparent. His labor 
is severe, his worry of mind is constant, and, when 



HOW SHALL WE VENTILATE ? 89 

he finishes his day's work, he is generally too tired 
to take the required exercise. He consequently 
labors on with impaired health, or breaks down 
prematurely. 

Instead of six hundred feet of space being allowed 
for each pupil, as perfect ventilation demands — the 
lowest estimate being 250 feet — often not over one 
hundred feet are afforded. Instead of 2000 cubic 
feet of fresh air for each pupil being supplied, and 
as much foul air removed every hour, as all physi- 
ologists assert is needed for perfect health, perhaps 
no means of ventilation at all are provided, and 
none is secured except what an occasionally-opened 
door, or the benevolent cracks and chinks in the 
building furnish the suffering lungs.* 

How shall We Ventilate ? — The usual method of 
ventilation depends upon the fact that hot air is 
lighter than cold air, and so the cold air tends, by 
the force of gravity, to fall and compel the warm 
air to rise. Thus, if we open the door of a heated 
room, and hold a lighted candle first at the top, and 
then at the bottom, we can see, by the deflection of 
the flame, that there is a current of air setting out- 
ward at the top, and another setting inward at the 
bottom of the opening. A handkerchief held loosely, 
or the smoke of a smoldering match, in front of a 
fire-place will show a current of air passing up the 

* Imagine fifty pupils put into a class-room thirty feet long, twenty-five feet wide, 
and ten feet high. This would generally be considered a very liberal provision. 
Such a room contains 7500 cubic feet of air. But it furnishes only 150 feet of space 
for each pupil. Allowing ten cubic feet of air per pupil each minute, in fifteen 
minutes after assembling, the entire atmosphere of the room is tainted, and unfit to 
be re-breathed. The demand of health is that at least 1500 cubic feet of pure air 
should be admitted into this room every minute, and as much be removed. 



90 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 

chimney ; this is caused by the difference of tem- 
perature between the air in the room and the outside 
atmosphere. Upon this difference of temperature, all 
ordinary ventilation is based. * A proper treatment 
of this subject and its practical applications, would 
require a book by itself. There is room here for 
only a few general statements and suggestions. 

1. Two openings are always necessary to produce 
a thorough change of air. (See Chemistry, p. 80.) 
Put a Righted candle in a bottle. The flame will 
soon be extinguished. The oxygen of the little air 
in the bottle is burned out, and carbonic-acid has 
taken its place. ISTow place over the mouth of the 
bottle a lamp-chimney, and insert in the chimney a 
strip of card-board, thus dividing the passage. On 
relighting the candle, it will burn freely. The smoke 
of a bit of smoldering paper will show that two 
opposite currents of air are established, one setting 
into the bottle, the other outwa^rd. 

2. In the winter, when our school-rooms, churches, 
public halls, etc., are heated artificially, ventilation 
is comparatively easy if properly arranged, f The 
required difference of temperature is kept up with 
little difficulty. The fresh air admitted to the room 
should then be heated either by a furnace, or by 
passing over a stove, or through a coil of steam- 

* Public buildings are sometimes ventilated by mechanical means, i. 6., immense 
fans which are turned by machinery, and thus set the air in motion. Such methods 
are, however, expensive, and rarely adopted, except where power is also used for 
other purposes. 

t For the escape of bad air, Dr. Bell suggests that an efficient foul-air shaft may 
be fitted to the commonest of stoves by simply inclosing the stove-pipe in a jacket — 
that is, in a pipe two or three inches greater in diameter. This should be braced 
round the stove-pipe and left open at the end nest the stove. At its entry into the 
chimney, a perforated collar should separate it from the stove-pipe. 



HOW SHALL WE VENTILATE ? 91 

pipes. This cold air should always be taken directly 
from out-doors, and not from a cellar, or under a 
piazza where contamination is possible. 

3. In order to remove the impure air, there should 
be ventilators provided at or near the floor, opening 
into air-shafts, or pipes leading upward through the 
roof, with proper orifices at the top. These venti- 
lating-pipes should be heated artificially so as to 
produce a draft. They may form one of the flues 
of a chimney in which there is a constant fire ; or be 
carried upward in a large flue through the center of 
which runs the smoke-pipe of the furnace or stove ; * 
or the ventilating-pipe be itself conveyed through 
the center of the larger chimney-flue. If the register 
for hot air be on the floor at one side of the room, 
two or more ventilators may be placed near the floor 
on the opposite side. The warm air will thus make 
the complete circuit of the room, and thoroughly 
warm it before passing out. 

If the ventilating-shaft be not heated artificially, 
the ventilator must be placed at the top of the room 
in order that the hot air may escape through it, thus 
producing an upward draft. But the objection to 
this method is that it allows the warmer air to 
escape, while economy requires that the cooler air 
at the bottom of the jroom should be removed and 

* This plan has been adopted in the new school-buildings of Ehnira, N. Y. The 
older buildings were provided with ventilatiug-pipes, not heated artificially, and 
hence of no service. These pipes are rendered effective, however, by conducting 
them into a small room in the garret, heated by a coal-stove. From this room, a 
large exit-pipe leads to the roof, where it terminates in an Emerson's ventilator. So 
strong a draft is thus established that throughout the building air is taken from the 
floors, and consequently the cooler portion of the rooms, at a velocity of three to 
five feet per second, or 180 to 300 cubic feet per minute for each square foot of flue- 
opening. In perpendicular flues, heated throughout with a smoke-flue from the fur- 
nace, ten feet per second is attained. 



93 RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 

the warm air be made to descend, thus securing 
uniformity of temperature. 

4. In the summer, ventilation may be commonly 
provided for by opening windows at the top and the 
bottom, on the sheltered side of the building, so as 
to avoid drafts of air injurious to the occupants. On 
a dull, still, hot day, when there is little difference 
of temperature between the inner and the outer air, 
ventilation can be secured only by having a fire 
provided in the ventilating-shaft ; this, by exhaust- 
ing the air from the room, will cause a fresh current 
to pour in through the open windows. At recess, all 
the children should, if the weather permit, be sent 
out-doors, to allow their clothing to be exposed to 
the purifying influence of the open air, and the win- 
dows to be thrown wide open, to ventilate the room 
thoroughly. In bad weather, rapid marching or 
calisthenic exercises will furnish exercise, and also 
permit the airing of the room. 

5. The school and the church are the centers for 
spreading contagious diseases. The former is espe- 
cially dangerous, and therefore great pains should 
be taken to exclude pupils attacked by or recovering 
from diphtheria, scarlet-fever, whooping-cough, etc., 
and even those who live in houses where such sick- 
ness exists. 

6. In our houses,* open fire-places are eflficient 

* The air of our homes is often contaminated by decaying vegetables and other 
filth in the cellar; by bad air dra^vn up into the cellar from the soil, by the powerful 
draughts that our fires create ; by defective gas and waste-pipes that let the foul air 
from cesspool or sewer spread through the house ; and by piles of refuse, or puddles of 
slops emptied at the back-door. "While the water in our wells, or m streams that sup- 
ply our towns and cities, receives too often the drainage from out-houses and barn- 
yards, and so introduces into our systems, in the liquid, and thus easily-assimilated 
form, the most dangerous poisons. The question of sanitary precautions is there- 
fore one that presses upon every thoughtful mind, and demands constant attention. 



WONDERS OF RESPIRATION. 93 

ventilators, and they should never be closed for any 
cause. Fresh air admitted by a hot-air register and 
impure air passed out by a chimney, form a simple 
and thorough system. Our sleeping-apartments 
demand especial care. As soon as the occupants 
leave the room, the bed-clothes should be removed, 
and laid on the backs of chairs to air ; the bed be 
shaken up ; and the windows thrown wide. In the 
summer, the windows may be closed before the sun 
is high ; the house is then left filled with the cool 
morning air. In damp and cold weather, a fire 
should be lighted in sleeping-apartments, particu- 
larly if used by children or delicate persons, to dry 
the bed-clothing, and also to prevent a chill on the 
part of the occupants. It is not necessary to go 
shivering to bed in order to harden one's consti- 
tution. 

Wonders of Respiration. — The perfection of the 
organs of respiration challenges our admiration. 
So delicate are they that the least pressure would 
cause exquisite pain, yet tons of air surge to and fro 
through their intricate passages, and bathe their 
innermost cells. We yearly perform at least 7,000,000 
acts of breathing, inhaling 100,000 cubic feet of air, 
and purifying over 3,500 tons of blood. This gigantic 
process goes on constantly, never wearies or worries 
us, and we wonder at it only when science reveals 
to us its magnitude. In addition, by a wise econ- 
omy, the process of respiration is made to subserve 
a second use no less important, and the air we 
exhale, passing through the organs of voice, is 
transformed into prayers of faith, songs of hope, 
and words of social cheer. 



94 



RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 



Diseases, etc.— 1. Constriction of the Lungs is 
produced by tight clothing. The ribs are thus forced 



Fig. 33, 




A B 

A, the natural position of the internal m^gans. B, when deformed by tight lacing. 
J^Iakshall says that the liver and (he stomach have, in this way, beenfoi'ced down- 
ward almost as low as the pelvis. 



inward, the size of the chest is diminished, and the 
amount of inhaled air decreased. Stiff clothing, and 
especially a garment that will not admit of a full 
breath without inconvenience, will prevent that free 
movement of the ribs so essential to health. Any 
infraction of the laws of respiration, even though it 
be fashionable, will result in diminished vitality and 



DISEASES, ETC. 95 

vigor, and will be fearfully punished by sickness and 
weakness through the whole life. 

2. Bronchitis is an inflammation (see Inflamma- 
tion) of the mucous membrane of the bronchial 
tubes. It is accompanied by an increased secretion 
of mucus, and consequent coughing. 

3. Pleurisy is an inflammation of the pleura. It 
is sometimes caused by an injury to the ribs, and 
results in a secretion of water within the membrane. 

4. Pneumonia (pneuma, breath) is an inflamma- 
tion of the lungs, affecting chiefly the air-cells. 

5. Consumption is a disease which destroys the 
substance of the lungs. Like other lung difficulties, 
it is caused largely by a want of pure air, a liberal 
supply of which is the best treatment that can be 
prescribed for it.* 

6. Asphyxia (as-fix'-i-a). When a person is 
drowned, strangled, or choked in any way, what is 
called asphyxia occurs. The face turns black ; the 
veins become turgid ; insensibility and often convul- 
sions ensue. If relief is not secured within a few 
minutes, death will be inevitable. f (See Appendix.) 

7. Diphtheria {diphthera, a membrane) is a kind 
of sore-throat, in which matter exudes from the 
mucous membrane. This stiffens into a peculiar 
white substance, patches of which may be seen in 



* " If T were seriously ill of consumption, I would live out-doors day and night, 
except in rainy weather or mid-winter ; then I would sleep in an unplastered log- 
house.. Physic has no nutriment, gaspings for air cannot cure you, monkey capers 
in a gymnasium cannot cure you, and stimulants cannot cure you. What consump- 
tives want is pure air, not physic— pure air, not medicated air— plenty of meat and 
plenty of bread."— Dr. Marshall Rail. 

t The lack of oxygen, and the presence of carbonic-acid gas, are the combined 
causes. Oxygen starvation and carbonic-acid poisoning, each fatal in itself, work 
together to destroy life. 



96 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

the back part of the mouth. Fever and debility 
accompany this disease, which is so sudden and 
insidious in its advances as to be exceedingly 
dreaded. 

8. Croup, which often attacks young children, is 
an inflammation of the mucous membrane of the 
larynx and trachea. It is commonly preceded by a 
cold. The child sneezes, coughs, and is hoarse, but 
the attack frequently comes on suddenly, and usu- 
ally in the night. It is accompanied by a peculiar 
''brassy," ringing cough, which, once heard, can 
never be mistaken. It may prove fatal within a few 
hours. (See Appendix.) 

9. Stammering depends, not on defects of the 
muscles, but on a want of due control of the mind. 
When a stammerer is not too conscious of his lack, 
and tries to form his words slowly, he speaks plainly, 
and may sing well, for then his words must come in 
time. Many persons who stutter in common conver- 
sation can talk with much fluency when making a 
speech. The stammerer should find out his peculiar 
difiiculty, and overcome it by exercise, and espe- 
cially by speaking only after a full inspiration. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS 

1. What is the philosophy of " tlie change of voice " in a boy ? 

2. Why can we see our breath on a frosty morning ? 

3. When a law of health and a law of fashion conflict, which should 
we obey ? 

4. If we use a " bunk " bed, should we pack away the clothes when 
we first rise in the morning ? 



I 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 97 

5. Why should a clothes-press be well ventilated? 

6. Should the weight of our clothing hang from the waist, or the 
shoulder ? 

7. Describe the effects of living in an overheated room? 

8. What habits impair the power of the lungs ? 

9. For full, easy breathing in singing, should we use the diaphragm 
and lower ribs, or the upper ribs alone ? 

10. Why is it better to breathe through the nose than the mouth ? 

11. Why should not a speaker talk while returning home on a cold 
night after a lecture ? 

12. What part of the body needs the loosest clothing ? 

13. What part needs the warmest ? 

14. Why is a " spare bed " generally unhealthf ul ? 

15. Is there any good in sighing ? 

16. Should a hat be thoroughly ventilated ? How ? 

17. Why do the lungs of people who live in cities become of a gray 
color ? 

18. How would you convince a person that a bed-room should be 
aired? 

19. What persons are most liable to scrofula, consumption, etc. ? 

20. If a person is plunged under water will it enter his lungs ? 

21. Are bed-curtains healthful ? 

22. Why do some people take " short breaths " after a meal? 
28. What is the special value of public parks ? 

24. Can a person become used to bad air, so that it will not injure 
him? 

25. Why do we gape when we are sleepy? 

26. Is a fashionable waist a model of art in sculpture or painting ? 

27. Should a fire-place be closed ? * 

28. Why does embarrassment or fright cause a stammerer to stutter 
still more painfully ? 

* " Thousand of lives would be saved if all fire-places were kept open. If you are 
eo fortunate as to have a fire-place in your room, paint it when not in use, put a 
bouquet of fresh fiowers in it every morning, if you please, or do anything to make 
it attractive, but never close it ; better use the fire-boards for kindling-wood. It 
would be scarcely less absurd to take a piece of elegantly-tinted court-plaster and 
stop up the nose, trusting to the accidental opening and shutting of the mouth for 
fresh air, because you thought it spoiled the looks of your face to have two such 
great, ugly holes in it, than to stop your fire-place with elegantly-tinted paper, 
or a Japanese fan, because it looks better."— Z^ec^s, 



98 PEACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

29. In the organs of voice, what parts have somewhat the same effect 
as the case of a violin and the sounding-board of a piano? 

30. Why should we be careful not to " take the breath of a sick per- 
son " ? 

31. What special care should be taken with regard to keeping a 
cellar clean ? 

32. How is the air strained as it passes into the lungs ? 

33. Can one really " draw the air into his lungs? " 

34. How often do we breathe ? 

35. Describe some approved method of ventilation. 

36. What is at once the floor of the chest and the roof of the abdo- 
men ? 

37. What would you do in a case of apparent death by drowning, or 
by coal-gas? (See Appendix.) 

38. What would you do in a case of croup, while the doctor was 
coming? (See Appendix.) 

39. How would you treat a severe burn ? (See xippendix.) 

40. Describe the various ways in which the water in a well is liable 
to become unwholesome. 



CIRCULATION. 



No rest this throbbing slave may ask. 
For ever quivering o'er his task. 
While far and wide a crimson jet 
Leaps forth to fill the woven net, 
Which in unnumbef'd crossiftg tides 
The flood of burning life divides, 
Then^ kindling each decaying part. 
Creeps back to find the throbbing heart.'^ 

Holmes. 



BLACKBOARD AKAlItSIS. 



, 1. The BiiOOD. 



2. Organs of the Cm- 

CULATION. 



o 
t— I 

< 

s! 

w 

Eh 



3. The Ciectjlation 



4. The Heat of the 
Body. 



1. Its Composition. 

2. Its Uses. 

3. Transfusion. 

4. Coagulation. 

1. Description. 

2. Movements. 

3. Auricles and Ventricles. 

1. The fa. Need of. 

Heart. •< i b. Tricuspid and Bi- 

I 4 Thp Valves ■} cuspid. 

4. ine valves. ^ ^ ^j^^ strengthening 

I I of the Valves. 

V Vfl- Semi-lunar Valves. 

2. The i 1. Description. 
Arteries -< 2. The Arterial System. 

( 3. The Pulse. 

8. The j 1. General Description. 
Veins. | 2. Valves. 

4. The ( 1. Description. 
CapUla--^2. Use. 
ries. ( 3. Under the Microscope. 

1. The Lesser. 
The Greater. 
The Velocity of the Blood. 

1. Distribution. 

2. Regulation. 



( 1.^ 

] 2.': 

3.: 



5. Life by Death. 

6. Change of ouk Bodies. 

7. The Three Vital Organs. 

8. Wonders of the Heart. 



9. The Lymphatic Cir- 
culation. 



10. Diseases. 



2. 

IL Aj.coholic Drinks -{ 3. 

AND Narcotics. | 4. 

15. 



f 1. Description. 

2. The Glands. 

3. The Lymph. 

. 4. The Office of the Lymphatics. 

1. Congestion. 

2. Inflammation. 

3. Bleeding. 
I 4. Scrofula. 

I 5. A Cold. 
[ 6 Catarrh. 

f 1. Effect of Alcohol upon the Circulation 



Heart. 

Membrane. 

Blood. 

Lungs. 



THE CIRCULATION 



THE Organs of the Circulation are the heart, the 
arteries, the veins, and the capillaries. 
The Blood is the liquid by means of which the 
circulation is effected. It permeates every part of 



Fig. S5. 



A, 





: of human blood, highly magnijied ; B, corpuscles in the blood of an 
animal {a non-mammal). 



the body, except the cuticle, nails, hair, etc. The 
average quantity in each person is about eighteen 
pounds.* It is composed of a thin, colorless liquid, 
the plasma, filled with red disks or cells, \ so small 



* It is difficult to estimate the exact amount, and therefore authorities disagree. 
Foster places it at about one-thirteenth of the hody-weight. 

t " There is also one white globular cell to every three or four hundred red ones. 
The blood is no more red than the water of a stream would be if you were to fill it 
with little red fishes. Suppose the fishes to be very, very small — as small as a grain 



y 



104 THE CIRCULATION. 

that about 3,500 placed side by side would measure 
only an inch, and it would take 16,000 laid flatwise 
upon one another to make a column of that height. 
Under the microscope, they are found to be rounded 
at the edge and concave on both sides. ^' They have 
a tendency to collect in piles like rolls of coin. The 
size and shape vary in the blood of different 
animals, t Disks are continually forming in the 
blood, and as constantly dying — 20,000,000 at every 
breath (Draper). 
The plasma also contains fibrin, I albumen — which 



of sand— and closely crowded to.^ether through the whole depth of the stream ; the 
water would look quite red. would it not ? And this is the way in which blood looks 
red— only observe one thing ; a grain of sand is a mountain in comparison with the 
little red fishes in tbe blood. If I were to tell you they measured about 3.,Vo of an 
inch in diameter, you would not be much wiser ; so I prefer saying (by way of giving 
you a more perfect idea of their minuteness) that there would be about a million in 
such a drop of blood as would hang on the point of a needle. I say so on the 
authority of a scientific microscopist— M. Bouillet. Not that he has ever counted 
them, as you may suppose, any more than I have done j but this is as near an ap- 
proach as can be made by calculation to the size of 35V0 part of an inch in diameter." 
—Jean JIace. 

* By pricking tbe end of the finger with a needle, we can obtain a drop for exami- 
nation. Place it on the slide, cover with a glass, and put it at once under the micro- 
scope. The red disks will be seen to group themselves in i-ows, while the white 
disks will seem to draw apart, and to be constantly changing their form. After a 
gradual evaporation, the crystals (Fig. 36) may be seen. In animals, they have 
various, though distinctive forms. 

t Authorities difi'er greatly in their estimate of the size of the disks (corpuscles) 
in human blood. The fact is that the size varies in difierent persons, probably also 
in the same Individual. Many of the best microscopists therefore hesitate to state 
whether a particular specimen of blood belonged to a human being or to an animal. 
Others claim that they can distinguish with accuracy. Evidently, the question is 
one of great uncertainty. The following statement of the size of the cells in difierent 
animals is taken from Gulliver's tables : Cat, ^^Vt of an inch in diameter; whale, 
3V00 ; mouse, 3^V4 ; tog, ^5*50 ; camel, gyVs ; sheep, « sVs ; horse, ^^^o ; Virginia deer, 
553a; dog-faced baboon, ^^Vt; brown baboon, 3^3 ; red monkey, shs; black 
monkey, s^- 

t It is usual to say that fibrin is contained in the blood. It probably does not 
exist as such, but there are present in the blood certain substances known as para- 
globulin and flbrinogin, which, by the action of the third substance, fibr la-ferment^ 
under certain circumstances, formffibrin and so cause coagulation. The exact natTlre 
of the process by which fibrin is produced is not understood. See Foster's Text 
Book of Physiology^ p. 22. 



USES OF THE BLOOD. 

Fig. 36. 



105 




Blood Crystals. 

is found nearly pure in the white of an egg — and 
also various mineral substances, as iron,* lime, mag- 
nesia, phosphorus, potash, etc. 

Uses of the Blood.— The blood has been called 
*' liquid flesh ; " but it is more than that, since it 
contains the materials for making every organ. The 
plasma is rich in mineral matter for the bones, and 
in albumen for the muscles. The red disks are the 
air-cells of the blood. They contain the oxygen so 
essential to every operation of life. Wherever there 
is work to be done or repairs to be made, there the 
oxygen is needed. It stimulates to action, and tears 
down all that is worn out. In this process, it com- 
bines with and actually burns out parts of the 
muscles and other tissues, as wood is burned in the 
stove, t The blood, now foul with the burned matter, 

* Enough iron lias been found in the ashes of a burned bodj- to form a mourning 
ring. 

t For the sake of simplicity, perhaps to conceal our own ignorance, we call this 
process "burning." The simile of a fire is good so far as it goes. But as to the real 



106 THE CIECULATION. 

the refuse of this fire, is caught up by the circulation, 
and whirled back to the lungs, where it is purified, 
and again sent bounding on its way. 

There are, then, two different kinds of the blood in 
the body : the red or arterial, and the dark or venous. 

Transfusion. — As the blood is really the " vital 
fluid," efforts have been made to restore the feeble 
by infusing healthy blood into their veins. If blood 
be drawn from an animal until it is seemingly dead, 
and then that from another animal be injected into 
its veins, its vitality will be restored.* This practice 
became quite common in the seventeenth century. 
The operation was even tried on human beings, and 



nature of the change Avhich the physiologist briefly terms "oxidation,*' we know 
nothing. This much only can be asserted positively. A stream of oxygen is carried 
by the blood to the muscles (in fact to every tissue in the body), while, from the 
muscles the blood carries away a stream of carbonic-acid and water. But what takes 
place in the muscles, when and what chemical change occurs, no one can tell. We 
see the first and the last stage. We know that contraction of the muscles somehow 
comes about, oxygen disappears, carbonic-acid appears, energy is released, and force 
is exhibited as motion, heat, and electricity. But the intermediate step is hidden. 

There are certain theories, however, advanced that are worth considering. Some 
physiologists hold that the muscle has the power of taking up the oxygen from the 
hcemor/lobin (a body that comprises ninety per cent, of the red corpuscles when 
dried, and is the oxygen-carrier of the blood), and fixing it, as weU as the raw mate- 
rial (food) furnished by the blood, thus forming a true contractile substance. The 
breaking-down or decomposition of this contractile substance in the muscle, 
sets free its potential energy. The process is gentle so long as the muscle is at 
rest, but becomes excessive and violent when contraction occurs. (See Foster's 
Physiology, p. 118.) It is also believed by some that the chemical change in the 
muscle partakes of a fermentive character ; that, under the influence of the proper 
ferments, the substances break up into other and simpler products, thus setting free 
heat and force ; and that this chemical change is followed by a secondary oxidation 
by the oxygen in the arterial blood, thereby forming carbonic-acid and water, as m 
all putrefactive processes. But these and other views are not as yet fully understood ; 
while they utterly fail to tell us how a collection of simple cells, filled merely with a 
semi-fluid mass of matter, can contract and set free muscular power. The common- 
ness of this act hides from us its wonderfal nature. But here, hidden in the cell- 
Nature's tiny laboratory — Ues the mystery of life. Before its closed door we ponder 
in vain, confessing the unskillfulness of our labor, and fearing all the while lest the 
Secret of the Cell will always elude our search. 

* Brown-Sequard tells of a curious instance in which the blood of a liWng dog 
was transferred into one just dead. The animal rose on its feet and wagged its tail, 
but died a second time twelve and one-half hours afterward. 



THE HEART. M 

the most extravagant hopes were entertained. A 
maniac was restored to reason by the blood of a calf. 
But many fatal accidents occurring, it was forbidden 
by law, and soon fell into disuse. It has, however, 
been successfully practiced in several cases within 
the last few years, and is a method still in repute 
for saving life. 

Coagulation. — When blood is exposed to the air, it 
coagulates. This is caused by the solidifying of the 
fibrin, which, entangling the disks, forms the 
''clot." The remaining clear, yellow liquid is the 
serum. The value of this peculiar property of the 
blood can hardly be over-estimated. The coagula- 
tion soon checks all ordinary cases of bleeding.* 
When a wound is made, and bleeding commences, 
the fibrin forms a temporary plug, as it were, which 
is absorbed when the healing process is finished. 
Thus we see how a Divine foresight has provided not 
only for the ordinary wants of the body, but also for 
the accidents to which it is liable. | 

The Heart is the engine which propels the blood. 
It is a hollow, pear-shaped muscle, about the size of 
the fist. It hangs, point downward, just to the left 
of the center of the chest. (See Fig. 31.) It is en- 
closed in a loose sac of serous membrane, J called the 



* In the case of the lower animals, which have no means of stopping hemorrhages 
as we have, the coagulation is far more rapid. 

t The fibrin is not an essential ingredient of the blood. All the functions of life 
are regularly performed in people whose blood lacks fibrin ; and, in cases of transfu- 
sion, where blood deprived of its fibrin was used, the vivifying influence seemed to 
be the same. Its oflice, therefore, must mainly be to stanch any hemorrhage which 
may occur, — Flint. 

X The mucous membrane lines the open cavities of the body ; the serous, the 
closed. The pericardium is a sac composed of two layers— a fibrous membrane on 
the outside, and a serous one on the inside. The latter covers the external surface 



108 



THE CIRCULATION. 



pericardium {peri, about ; and kardia, the heart), 
This secretes a lubricating fluid, and is smooth as 
satin. 
The Movements of the Heart consist of an alter- 



Fio. 37. 




'i/:.. i: 




3^ 



The Heart. A, the right xentnde ; B, the left ventricle ; C, the Hght auricle 
D, the left auricle. 

nate contraction and expansion. The former is 
called the sys'to-le, and the latter the di-as'to-te. 



of the heart, and is reflected back upon itself in order to form, like all the membranes 
of this nature, a sac without ari opening. The heart is thus covered by the pericar- 
dial sac. but not contained inside its cavity. A correct idea may be formed of the 
disposition of the pericardium around the heart by recallini^ a very common and very 
convenient, though now discarded head-dress, the cotton nightcap. The pericardium 
encloses the heart exactly as this cap covered our forefathers* hedAi.— Wonders of the 
Human Body. 



I 



AURICLES AND VENTRICLES. 



109 



During the diastole, the blood flows into the heart, to 
be expelled by the systole. The alternation of these 
movements constitutes the beating of the heart 
which we hear so distinctly between the fifth and 
sixth ribs.* 

Fiq. 3S. 




Chambers of the Heart. A, right ventricle ; B, left ventricle ; C, right auricle , 
D, left auricle; E, tricuspid valve; F, bicuspid valve; G, semi-lunar valves; H, 
valve of the aorta ; I, inferior vena cava ; K, superior vena cava ; L, L, pulmonary 
veins. » 



The Auricles and Ventricles. — The heart is divided 
into four chambers. In an adult, each holds about 
a wine-glassful. The upper ones, from appendages 
on the outside resembling the ears of a dog, are 

* " Two sounds are heard if we put our ear over the heart,— the first and longer 
as the blood is leaving the organ, the second as it falls into the pockets of the two 
arteries, and the valves then striking together cause ir. The first sound is mainly 
the noise made by the muscular tissue. During the first, the two ventricles contract ; 
during the second, the two auricles do so. The hand may i'eel the heart striking the 
ribs as it contracts, — a feeling called the impulse, or, if quicker and stronger than 
Usual, palpitation. This is not always a sign of disease, but in hypochondriacs is 
often an effect of the mind on the nerves of the heart."— J/apo^/^er. 



110 THE CIRCULATION. 

called auricles (aures, ears) ; the lower ones are 
termed ventricles. The auricle and ventricle on each 
side communicate with each other, but the right and 
left'lialves of the heart are entirely distinct,)and per- 
form different offices. The left side propels the red 
blood ; and the right, the dark. 

The auricles are merely reservoirs to receive the 
blood, (the left auricle, as it filters in bright and 
pure from the lungs ; the right, as it returns dark 
and foul from the tour of the body), and to furnish 
it to the ventricles as they need. Their work being 
so light, their walls are comparatively thin and 
weak. On the other hand, the ventricles force the 
blood, (the left, to all parts of the body ; the right, 
10 the lungs), and are, therefore, made very strong. 
As the left ventricle drives the blood so much fur- 
ther than the right, it is correspondingly thicker 
and stronger. 

Need of Valves in the Heart. — As the auricles do 
not need to contract with much force simply to 
empty their contents into the ventricles below them, 
there is no demand for any special contrivance to 
prevent the blood from setting back the wrong way. 
Indeed, it would naturally run down into the ven- 
tricle, which is at that moment open to receive it. 
But, when the strong ventricles contract, especially 
the left one which must drive the blood to the 
extremities, some arrangement is necessary to pre- 
vent its escaping into the auricle again. Besides, 
when they expand, the " suction power " would 
tend to draw back again from the arteries all the 
blood just forced out. This difficulty is obviated by 



TRICUSPID AND BICUSPID VALVES. Ill 

Fig. 39. 





Diagram showing the peculiar Fibrous Structure of the Heart and the Shape of the 
Valves. A, tricuspid valve ; B, bicuspid valve ; C, semi-lunar valves of the aorta ; D, 
semi-lunar valves of the pulmonary artery. 

means of little doors, or valves, which will not let it 
go the wrong way. * 

The Tricuspid and Bicuspid Valves. — At the 
opening into the right ventricle, is a valve consisting 
of three folds or flaps of membrane, whence it is 
called the tri-cuspid valve (tri, three ; and cuspides, 
points), and in the left ventricle, one containing two 
flaps, and named the hi-cuspid valve. These hang 
so loosely as to oppose no resistance to the passage 
of the blood into the ventricles ; but, if any attempts 
to go the other way, it gets between the flaps and 
the walls of the heart, and, driving them outward, 
closes the orifice. 



* The heart of an ox or a sheep may be used to ehow the chambers and valves. 
The aorta should be cut as far as possible from the heart, and then by pumping in 
water the perfection of these valves will be finely exhibited. Cutting the heart 
across near the middle will show the greater thickness of the left ventricle. 



112 THE CIRCULATION. 

These Flaps are Strengthened like sails by slender 
cords, which prevent their being pressed back 
through the opening. If the cords were attached \ 
directly to the walls of the heart, they would be 
loosened in the systole, and so become useless when 
most needed. They are, therefore, fastened to little 
nauscular pillars projecting from the sides of the 
ventricle ; when that contracts the pillars contract / 
also, and thus the cords are held tight. 

The Semi-lunar Valves. — In the passages outward 
from the ventricles, are valves, called from their 
peculiar half-moon shape semi-lunm^ valves {semi, 
half ; Lwia, Moon). Each consists of three little 
pocket-shaped folds of membrane, with their open- 
ings in the direction which the blood is to take. 
When it sets back, they fill, and, swelling out, close 
the passage (Fig. 40). 

The Arteries* are the tube-like canals which convey 
the blood from the heart. They carry the red blood 
(see note, p. 118).C?^ They are composed of- an elastic 
tissue, which yields at every throb of the heart, and 
then slowly contracting again, keeps up the motion 
of the blood until the next systole. The elasticity 
of the arteries acts like the air-chamber of a fire- 
engine, which converts the intermittent jerks of the 
brakes or pump into the steady stream of the hose- 
nozzle. 

The arteries sometimes communicate by means of 
branches or by meshes of loops, so that if the blood 
be blocked in one, it can pass round through another, 

* Aer. air : and tereo. I contain — so named because after death they contain air 
only, and hence the ancients supposed them to be air-tubes leading through the 
bjDdy. 



THE PULSE. 113 

and so get by the obstacle.* When an artery pene- 
trates a muscle, it is often protected by a sheath or 
by fibrous rings, which prevent its being pulled out 
of place or compressed by the play of the muscles. 

The arteries are generally located as far as possi- 
ble beneath the surface, out of harm's way, and 
hence are found closely hugging the bones or creep- 
ing through safe passages provided for them. They 
are generally nearly straight, and take the shortest 
routes to the parts which they are to supply with 
blood. 

The Arterial System starts from the left ventricle 
by a single trunk — the aorta — which, after giving 
off branches to the head, sweeps back of the chest 
with a bold curve — the arch of the aorta (c, Fig. 34) 
— and thence runs downward (/), dividing and sub- 
dividing, like a tree, into numberless branches, 
which, at last, penetrate every nook and corner of 
the body. 

The Pulse. — At the wrist {k, radial artery) and on 
the temple (temporal artery) we can feel the expan- 
sion of the artery by each little wave of blood set in 
motion by the contraction of the heart. In health, 
there are about seventy-two f pulsations per minute. 
They increase with excitement or inflammation, 

X 

* This occurs especially about the joints, where it serves to maintain the circula- 
tion during the bending of a limb, or when the main artery is obstructed by disease 
or injury, or has been tied by the surgeon. In the last case, the small adjacent arte- 
ries gradually enlarge, and form what is called a collateral circulation. 

t This number varies much with age, sex, and individuals. Napoleon's pulse is 
said to have been only 40, while it is not infrequent to find a healthy pulse at 100 or 
over. Shame makes the heart send more blood to the blushing check, and fear 
almost stops it. The will cannot check the heart. There is said, however, to have 
been a notable exception to this in the case of one Col. Townsend, of Dublin, who, 
after having succeeded several times in stopping the pulsation, at last lost his life in 
the act. 



114 THE CIRCULATION. 

weaken with loss of vigor, and are modified by 
nearly every disease. The physician, therefore, 
finds the pulse a good index of the state of the sys- 
tem and the character of the disorder. 

The Veins are the tube-like canals which convey 
the blood to the heart.* They carry the dark or 
venous blood (note, p. 118). As they do not receive 
the direct impulse of the heart, their walls are made 
much thinner and less elastic than those of the arte- 
ries. At first small, they increase in size and dimin- 
ish in number as they gradually pour into one an- 
other, like tiny rills collecting to form two rivers, 
the vena cava ascending and the vena cava descend- 
ing {I, m, Fig. 34), which empty into the right auricle. 

Some of the veins creep along under the skin, 
where they can be seen, as in the back of the hand ; 
while others accompany the arteries, some of which 
have two or more of these companions. 

Valves similar in construction to those already 
described (the semi-lunar valves of the heart, 
page 112) are placed at convenient intervals, 
in order to guide the blood in its course, and 
prevent its setting backward.! We can easily 

* There is one exception to the general coarse of the veins. The 2^orial vein car- 
ries the blood from the digestive organs to the liver, where it is acted upon, thence 
poured into the ascending vena cava, and goes back to the heart. 

+ "Too much standing, or tight elastics, often swell and spoil the valves of "the 
veins in the leg; they then become varicose, or permanently enlarged, and, if they 
hurst, the bleeding may be profuse and even dangerous. Raising the ieg and pressing 
the finger on the bleeding spot will stay it. Walking does not encourage this disease, 
for the muscles force on the venous blood. Clerks who are subject to varicose veins 
should have seats behind the counters where they may rest when not actually 
employed. A deep breath helps the flow in the veins, and a wound may suck m air 
with fatal effect. A maimed horse is most mercifully killed by blowing a bubble of 
air into the veins of his neck. As the pressure deep in the sea would burst valves, 
there are none in the whale, and hence a small wound by the harpoon causes him to 
bleed to death."— i/ai?o^/ier. 



I 




THE CAPILLARIES. 115 

examine the working of these valves. On baring 
the arm, blue veins may be seen running along the 
arm toward the hand. ^. ,^ 

£ig. kO. 

Their diameter is tolerably 
even, and they gradually 
decrease in size. If now 
the finger be pressed on 
the upper part of one of 
these veins, and then ^, ^,. tt 

^ Valves of the Veins. 

passed downward so as to 

drive its blood backward, swellings like little knots 
will make their appearance. Each of these marks 
the location of a valve, which is closed by the blood 
we push before our finger. Remove the pressure, 
and the valve will swing open, the blood set for- 
ward, and the vein collapse to its former size. 

The Capillaries {capillus, a hair) form a fine net- 
work of tubes, connecting the ends of the arteries 
with the veins. They blend, however, with the 
extremities of these two systems, so that it is not 
easy to tell just where an artery ends and a vein 
begins. So closely are they placed, that we cannot 
prick the flesh with a needle without injuring, per- 
haps, hundreds of them. The air-cells of the blood 
deposit there their oxygen, and receive carbonic 
acid, while in the delicate capillaries of the lungs* 
they give up their load of carbonic acid in exchange 
for oxygen. 

If, by means of a microscope, we examine the 
transparent web of a frog's foot, we can trace the 

* The capillary tubes are there so fine that the disks of the blood have to go one 
by one, and are sadly squeezed at that. However, their elasticity enables them to 
resume their old shape as soon as they have escaped from this labyrinth. 



116 



THE CIRCULATION. 



Fig. hi. 




ABC 

Circulation of the Blood in the Web of a Frog's Foot, highly magnified. A. an 
artery ; B, capillaries crowded with disTcs, owing to a rupture just above, where the 
disks are jamvied into an adjacent mesh ; C, a deeper vein ; the black spots are pig- 
merit cells. 



route of the blood. "^ It is an experiment of wonder- 
ful interest. The crimson stream, propelled by the 
heart, rushes through the arteries, until it reaches 
the intricate meshes of the capillaries. Here it 
breaks into a thousand tiny rills. We can see the 
disks winding in single file through the devious 
passages, darting hither and thither, now pausing, 
swaying to and fro with an uncertain motion, and 
anon dashing ahead, until, at last, gathered in the 
veins, the blood sets steadily back on its return to 
the heart. 

The Circulation f consists of two parts — the lesser, 
and the greater. 

* With small splints and twine, a frog's foot can be easily stretched and tied so 
that the transparent web can be placed on the table of the microscope. 

t The circulation of the blood was discovered by Harvey in 1619. For several 
years, he did not dare to publish his belief When it became known, he was bitterly 
persecuted, and his practice as a physician greatly decreased in consequence. He 
lived, however, to see his theory universally adopted, and his name honored. 
Harvey is said to have declared that no man over forty years of age accepted his 
views. 



THE LESSER CIRCULATION. 



117 



1. The Lesser Circulation. — The dark blood 
from the veins collects in the right auricle, and, 
going through the tricuspid valve, empties into the 



Fig. kH. 




Diagram illustrating the Circulation qf the J^?^-"Makshall A^^^ 
descending {superior) ; Z, vena cava ascending {inferior^ ; C, right auncie, i>, W^ 
ventricle ; E, pulmonary artery ,' F P, lungs and pulmonary veins ; G, left auricle , 
H, left ventricle; I, K, a07'ta. 



right ventricle. Thence it is driven past the semi- 
lunar valves, through the pulmonary artery, to the 
lungs. After circulating through the fine capil- 
laries of the air-cells, it is returned, bright and 



118 THE CIRCULATION. 

red, through the four pulmonary veins,* to the left 
auricle. 

2. The Greater Circulation. — From the left 
auricle, the blood is forced past the bicuspid valve 
to the left ventricle ; thence it is driven through the 
semi-lunar valves into the great aorta, the main 
trunk of the arterial system. Passing through the 
arteries, capillaries, and veins, it returns through 
the vense cavse, ascending and descending, gathers 
again in the right auricle, and so completes the 
*^ grand round'' of the body. Both of these circu- 
lations are going on constantly, as the two auricles 
contract, and the two ventricles expand simulta- 
neously, and vice versa. 

The Velocity of the Blood varies so much in dif- 
ferent parts of the body, and is influenced by so 
many circumstances, that it cannot be calculated 
with any degree of accuracy. It has been estimated 
that a portion of the blood will make the tour of the 
body in about twenty-three seconds {Flint), and that 
the entire mass passes through the heart in from 
one to two minutes, f 

Distribution and Regulation of the Heat of the 
Body. — 1. Distribution. — The natural temperature 

* It is noticeable that the pulmonary set of veins circulates red blood, and the 
pulmonary set of arteries circulates dark blood. Both are connected with the 
lungs. 

t If a salt which can be easily recognized be inserted in one of the jugular veins 
of a dog, and blood be drawn as quickly as possible from the opposite jugular, the 
substance will be detected in from twenty to thirty seconds ; having, in this brief 
time, passed to the right heart, thence to the limgs, back to the left heart, through 
the arteries, capillaries, and veins of the face and neck, and into the jugular vein. 
The total amount of blood in an adult of average weight is about eighteen pounds. 
Dividing thi.* by five ounces, the quantity discharged by the left ventricle at each 
systole, gives fifty-eight pulsations as the number necessary to transmit all the blood 
in the body. This, however, is an extremely unreliable basis of calculation, as the 
rapidity of the blood is itself so variable. 



HEAT OF THE BODY. 119 

is not far from 98°.* This is maintained, as we have 
already seen, by the action of the oxygen within us. 
Each capillary tube is a tiny stove, where oxygen is 
combining with the tissues of the body (see note, 
p. 105). Every contraction of a muscle develops heat, 
the latent heat being set free by the breaking up of 
the tissue. The warmth so produced is distributed 
by the circulation of the blood. Thus the arteries, 
veins, and capillaries form a series of hot-water 
pipes, through which the heated liquid is forced by 
a pump — the heart — while the heat is kept up, not 
by a central furnace and boiler, but by a multi- 
tude of little fires placed here and there along its 
course. 

2. Regulation. — The temperature of the body is 
regulated by means of the pores of the skin and the 
mucous membrane in the air-passages. When the 
system becomes too warm, the blood-vessels on the 
surface expand, the blood fills them, the fluid exudes 
into the perspiratory glands, pours out upon the ex- 
terior, and by evaporation cools the body.f When 
the temperature of the body is too low, the vessels 
contract, less blood goes to the surface, the perspi- 
ration decreases, and the loss of heat by evaporation 
diminishes. J: 

* " The average temperature is, however, easily departed from. Through some 
trivial cause the cooling agencies may be interfered with, and then, the heating pro- 
cesses getting the superiority, a high temperature or fever comes on. Or the reverse 
may ensue. In Asiatic cholera, the constitution of the blood is so changed that its 
disks can no longer carry oxygen into the system, the heat-making processes are put 
a stop to, and, the temperature declining, the body becomes of a marble coldness 
characteristic of that terrible disease.''''— Draper. 

t Just as water sprinkled on the floor cools a room. {Physics, page 191.) 
% One can go into an oven where bread is baking, or into the arctic regions 
where the mountains are snow and the rivers ice, with equal impunity. Even by 
these extremes the temperature of the blood will bo btit slightly afi'ected. In the one 



120 THE CIRCULATION. 

Life by Death. — The body is being incessantly 
corroded, and portions borne away by the tireless 
oxygen. The scales of the epidermis are constantly 
falling off and being replaced by secretion from the 
cutis. The disks of the blood die, and new ones 
spring into being. On the continuance of this inter- 
change depend our health and vigor. Every act is 
a destructive one. Not a bend of the finger, not a 
wink of the eye, not a thought of the brain but is 
at some expense of the machine itself. Every pro- 
cess of life is thus a process of death. The more 
rapidly this change goes on, and fresh, vigorous 
tissue takes the place of the old, the more elasticity 
and strength we possess. 

Change of our Bodies. — There is a belief that our 
bodies change once in seven years. From the nature 
of the case, the rate must vary with the labor we 
perform ; the organs most used altering oftenest. 
Probably the parts of the body in incessant employ- 
ment are entirely reorganized many times within a 
single year.* 

The Three Vital Organs. — Death is produced by 
the stoppage of the action of any one of the three 
organs — the heart, the lungs, or the brain. They 
have, therefore, been termed the '^ Tripod of Life.'' 
Really, however, as Huxley has remarked, "Life 
has but two legs to stand upon." If respiration 



case, the flood-gates of perspiration will be opened and the superfluous heat expended 
in tnming the water to vapor ; and, in the other, they will he tightly closed and all 
the heat retained. 

* To use a homely simile, our bodies are like the Irishman's tnife. which, after 
having had several new blades, and at least one new handle, was yet the same 
old knife. 



WONDERS OF THE HEART. 121 

and circulation be kept up artificially, the removal 
of the brain will not produce death. * 

Wonders of the Heart. — The ancients thought the 
heart to be the seat of love. There were located the 
purity and goodness as well as the evil passions of 
the soul, t Modern science has found the seat of the 
mental powers to be in the brain. But, while it has 
thus robbed the heart of its romance, it has revealed 
wonders which eclipse all the mysteries of the past. 
This marvelous little engine throbs on continually 
at the rate of 100,000 beats per day, 40,000,000 per 
year, often 3,000,000,000 without a single stop. It is 
the most powerful of machines. ^' Its daily work is 
equal to one-third that of all the muscles. If it 
should expend its entire force in lifting its own 
weight vertically, it would rise 20,000 feet in an 
hour."! Its vitality is amazing. Lay upon a table 
the heart from a living sturgeon, all palpitating 
with life, and it will beat for days as if itself a 
living creature. The most tireless of organs while 
life exists, it is one of the last to yield when life 
expires. So long as a flutter lingers at the heart, 
we know the spark of being is not quite extin- 
guished, and there is hope of restoration. During 
a life such as we sometimes see, it has propelled 



* When death really does take place, i e., when the vital organs are stopped, it is 
noticeable that the tissues do not die for some time thereafter. If suitable stimu- 
lants be applied, as the galvanic battery, transfusion of blood, etc., the muscles may 
be made to contract, and many of the phenomena of life be exhibited. 

t Our common words, hearty, large-hearted, courage {cor, the heart), are remains 
of this fanciful theory. 

t " The greatest exploit ever accomplished by a locomotive, was to lift itself 
through less than one-eighth of that distance " Vast and constant as is this process, 
so perfect is the machinery that there are persons who do not even know where the 
heart lies until disease or accident reveals its location. 



122 



THE CIRCULATION. 



half a million tons of blood, yet repaired itself as 
it has wasted, during its patient, unfaltering labor. 
The play of its valves and the rhythm of its throb 
have never failed until at the command of the 
great Master- Workman the ^^ wheels of life have 
stood still."* 

Fig. It3. 








Lymphatics of the head and neck, showing the glands, and, B, the thoracic duct as 
it empties into the left innominate vein at the junction of the left jugular and sub- 
clavian veins. 

The Lymphatic Circulation is intimately connected 
with that of the blood. It is, however, more delicate 
in its organization, and less thoroughly understood. 
Nearly every part of the body is permeated by a 



* "Our brains are seventy-five year clocks. The Angel of Life winds them up 
once for all, then closes the case, and gives the key into the hand of the Angel of the 
Eesnrrection. Tic-tac ! tic-tac ! go the wheels of thought ; our will cannot stop 
them^they cannot stop themselves ; sleep cannot stop them ; madness only makes 
them go faster ; death alone can break into the case. and. seizing the ever-swinging 
pendulum which we call the heart, silence at last the clicking of the terrible escape- 
ment we have carried so long beneath our wrinkled foreheads." — Holmes. 



1 



OFFICE OF THE LYMPHATICS. 



123 




/' 



second series of capillaries, closely Fig.kk. 

interlaced with the blood-capilla- 
ries already described, and 
termed the Lymphatic system. 
The larger number converge into 
the thoracic duct — a small tube, 
about the size of a goose-quill, 
which empties into the great 
veins of the neck (Fig. 43). Along 
their course the lymphatics fre- 
quently pass through glands, — 
hard, pinkish bodies of all sizes, 
from that of a hemp-seed to an 
almond. These glands are often 
enlarged by disease, and then are 
easily felt. 

The Lymph, which circulates 
through the lymphatics like blood 
through the veins, is a thin, 
colorless liquid, very like the 
serum. This fluid, probably in 
great measure an overflow from 
the blood-vessels, is gathered up 
by the lymphatics, undergoes in 
the glands some process of prepa- 
ration not well understood, and is 
then returned to the circulation. 

Office of the Lymphatics. — It is 
thought that portions of the 
waste matter of the body capable of further use are 
thus, by a wise economy, retained and elaborated in 
the system. 

The lacteals, a class of lymphatics which will be 




Lymphatics in the leg, with 
glands at the hip. 



1^4 THE CmCULATIOlJ. 

described under Digestion (p. 153), aid in taking 
up the food ; after a meal they become milk-white. 
In the lungs, the lymphatics are abundant ; some- 
times absorbing the poison of disease, and diffusing 
it through the system. ^ 

The lymphatics of the skin we have already 
spoken of as producing the phenomena of absorp- 
tion.! Nature in her effort to heal a cut deposits an 
excess of matter to fill up the breach. Soon, the 
lymphatics go to work and remove the surplus ma- 
terial to other parts of the body. 

Animals that hibernate are supported during the 
winter by the fat which their absorbents carry into 
the circulation from the extra supply they have laid 
up during the summer. In famine or in sickness, a 
man unconsciously consumes his own flesh. 

Diseases, etc. — 1. Congestion is an unnatural ac- 
cumulation of blood in any part of the body. The 
excess is indicated by the redness. If we put our 
feet in hot water, the capillaries will expand by the 
heat, and the blood set that way to fill them. The 
red nose and purplish face of the drunkard show a 
congestion of the capillaries. Those vessels have 
lost their power of contraction, and so are perma- 
nently increased in size and filled with blood. 
Blushing is a temporary congestion. The capillaries 
being expanded only for an instant by the nervous 
excitement, contract again and expel the blood. X 

* Persons have thus been poisoned by tiny particles of arsenic which evaporate 
from green wall-paper, and float in the air. 

t Pain is often relieved by infusing under the cuticle a solution of morphine, 
which is taken up by the absorbents, and so carried through the system. 

X " Blushing is a purely local modification of the circulation of this kind, and it will 
be. instructive to consider how a blush is brought about. An emotion— sometimes 



DISEASES, ETC. 125 

2. Inflammation means simply a burning. If 
there is irritation or an injury at any spot, the blodd 
sets thither and reddens it. This extra supply, both 
by its presence and the friction of the swiftly-moving 
currents, produces heat. The pressure of the dis- 
tended vessels upon the nerves frets them, and pro- 
duces pain. The swelling stretches the walls of the 
blood-vessels, and the serum or lymph oozes through. 
The four characteristics of an inflammation are red- 
ness, heat, pain, and swelling. 

3. Bleeding, if from an artery, will be of red 
blood, and will come in jets ; if from the veins, it 
will be of dark blood, and will flow in a steady 
stream. If only a small vessel be severed, it may be 
checked by a piece of cloth held or bound firmly 



pleasurable, sometimes painful— takes possession of the mind ; thereupon a hot flush 
13 felt, the skin grows red, and according to the intensity of the emotion these changes 
are confined to the cheeks only, or extend to the ' roots of the hair,' or ' all over.' What 
is the cause of these changes ? The blood is a red and a hot fluid ; the skin reddens and 
grows hot, because its vessels contain an increased quantity of this red and hot fluid : 
and its vessels contain more, because the small arteries suddenly dilate, the natural 
moderate contraction of their muscles being superseded by a state of relaxation. In 
other words, the action of the nerves which cause this muscular contraction is sus- 
pended. On the other hand, in many people, extreme terror causes the skin to grow 
cold, and the face to appear pale and pinched. Under these circumstances, in fact, 
the supply of blood to the skin is greatly diminished, in consequence of an excessive 
stimulation of the nerves of the small arteries, which causes them to contract and so 
to cut ofi" the supply of blood more or less completely. That this is the real state of 
the case may be proved experimentally upon rabbits. These animals, it is true, do 
not bUish naturally, but they may be made to blush artificially. If, in a rabbit, the 
sympathetic nerve which sends branches to the vessels of the head is cut, the ear of 
the rabbit, which is covered by so delicate an integument that tlic changes in its 
vessels can be readily perceived, at once blushes. That is to say, the vessels dilate, 
fill with blood, and the ear becomes red and hot. The reason of this is, that when 
the sympathetic nerve is cut, the nervous stimulus which is ordinarily sent along its 
branches is interrupted, and the muscles of the small vessels, which were slightly 
contracted, become altogether relaxed. And now it is quite possible to produce 
pallor and cold in the rabbit's oar. To do this it is only necessary to irritate the cut 
end of the sympathetic nerve which remams connected with the vessels. The nerve 
then becomes excited, so that the muscular fibers of the vessels are thrown into a 
violent state of contraction, which diminishes their caliber so much that the blood 
can hardly make its way through them. Consequently, the ear becomes pale and 
coi^y— Huxley'' s Lessons in Physiology, page 58. 



126 THE CIRCULATION. 

upon the wound. If a large trunk be cut, especially 
in a limb, make a knot in a handkerchief and tie it 
loosely about the limb ; then, placing the knot on 
the wound, with a short stick twist the handker- 
chief tightly enough to stop the flow. If you have a 
piece of cloth to use as a pad, the knot will be un- 
necessary. If it be an artery that is cut, the pressure 
should be applied between the wound and the heart ; 
if a vein, beyond the wound. If you are alone, and 
are severely wounded, or in an emergency, like a 
railroad accident, use the remedy which has saved 
many a life upon the battle-field — bind or hold a 
handful of dry earth upon the wound, elevate the 
part, and await surgical assistance. 

4. Scrofula is generally inherited. It is a disease 
affecting the lymphatic glands, most commonly 
those of the neck, forming "kernels," as they are 
called. It is, however, liable to attack any organ, 
and frequently terminates in consumption. Persons 
inheriting this disease can hope to ward off its in- 
sidious approaches only by the utmost care in diet 
and exercise ; by the use of pure air and warm cloth- 
ing, and by avoiding late hours and undue stimulus 
of all kinds. Probably the most fatal and common 
excitants of the latent seeds of scrofula are insuffi- 
cient or improper food, and want of ventilation. 

5. A Cold. — We put on a thinner dress than usual, 
or, when heated, sit in a cool place. The skin is 
chilled, and the perspiration checked. The blood, 
no longer cleansed, and reduced in volume by the 
drainage through the pores, sets to the lungs for 
purification. That organ is oppressed, breathing 
becomes difficult, and the extra mucous secreted by 



J 



DISEASES, ETC. 127 

the irritated surface of the membrane is thrown off 
by coughing. The mucous membrane of the nasal 
chamber sympathizes with the difficulty, and we 
have "a cold in the head," or a catarrh. In 
general, the excess of blood seeks the weakest point, 
and develops there any latent disease.* Where one 
person has been killed in battle, thousands have 
died of colds. 

To restore the equipoise must be the object of all 
treatment. We' put the feet in hot water and they 
soon become red and gorged with the blood which is 
thus called from the congested organs. Hot foot- 
baths have saved multitudes of lives. It is well in 
case of a sudden cold to go immediately to bed, and 
with hot drinks and extra clothing open the pores, 
and induce free perspiration. This calls the blood to 
the surface, and, by equalizing and diminishing the 
volume of the circulation, affords relief, f 

The rule for the prevention and cure of a cold is to 
keep the blood upon the surface. 

6. Catarrh commonly manifests itself by the 
symptoms known as those of a ^'cold in the head," 
and is produced by the same causes. It is an in- 
flammation of the mucous membrane lining the 
nasal and bronchial passages. One going out from 



* A party go out for a walk and are caught in a rain, or, coming home heated from 
some close assembly, throw off their coats to enjoy the deliciously-cool breeze. The 
next day, one has a fever, another a slight headache, another pleurisy, another 
pneumonia, another rheumatism, while some escape without any ill-feeling what- 
ever. The last had vital force suflScient to withstand the disturbance, but in the 
others there were weak points, and to these the excess of blood has gone, producing 
congestion. 

t Severe colds may often be relieved in their first stages by using lemons freely 
during the day, and taking at night fifteen or twenty grains of sodium bromide. 
Great care, however, should be obser\ ed in employing the latter remedy, except 
under the advice of a physician. 



128 



THE CIRCULATION. 



the hot dry air of a furnace-heated room into the cold 
damp atmosphere of our climate can hardly avoid 
irritating and inflaming this tender membrane. If 
our rooms were heated less intensely, and ventilated 
more thoroughly, so that we had not the present 
hot-house sensitiveness to cold air, this disease 
would be far less universal, and perhaps would dis- 
appear entirely.* 



ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND NARCOTICS. 



1. ALCOHOL.t 

General Effect of Alcohol upon the Circulation. 

— During the experiment described on page 116, 
the influence of alcohol upon the blood may be 
beautifully tested. Place on the web of the frog's 

* Dr. Gray gives the following table based upon measurement of rooms occupied 
by letter-press printers : 





Number per 

cent. 

Spitting Blood. 


Subject to 
Catarrh. 


104 men having less than 500 cubic feet of air to 
breathe 

115 men having from 500 to 600 cubic feet of air to 
breathe 

101 men having more than 600 cubic feet of air to 
breathe 


12.50 
4.35 
3.96 


12.50 
3 58 
1 98 







t How Alcohol is formed — When any substance containing sugar, as fruit-juice, 
is caused to ferment, the elements of hydrogen, carbon, and oxygen, of uhich the 
su^ar i? composed, rearrange themselves so as to form carbonic acid, alcohol, and 
certain volatile oils, and ethers. The carbouic acid partly evaporates, and partly 
remains to give life and piquancy to the liquor ; the alcohol is the exciting or 
intoxicating principle; while the oils and ethers impart the peculiar flavor and 
aroma. Thus wine is fermented grape-juice and cider is fermented apple-juice, each 
having its distinctive fragrance. For a full accouut of the subject of Fermentation, 
read Steele's New Chemistry, page 192. -^ 

Manufacture of Beer. — The barley used for making beer is first malted, i. ej 
sprouted, to turn a part of its starch into sugar. When this process has gone far 



/^i^ 



ALCOHOL. 129 



foot a drop of dilute spirit. The blood-vessels im- 
mediately expand — an effect known as '^ Vascular 
enlargement.'' Channels before unseen open, and 
the blood-disks fly along at a brisker rate. Next, 
touch the membrane with a drop of pure spirit. 
The blood channels quickly contract ; the cells 
slacken their speed ; and, finally, all motion ceases. 
The flesh shrivels up and dies. The circulation thus 
stopped is stopped forever. The part affected will in 
time slough off. Alcohol has killed it. 

enough, it is checked by heating the grain in a kiln until the germ Is destroyed. 
The malt is then crushed, steeped, and fermented with hops and yeast. The sugar 
gradually disappears, alcohol is formed, and carbonic acid escapes into the air. The 
beer is then put into casks, where it under',^oes a second, slower fermentation, the 
flavor ripens, and the carbonic acid gathers ; when the liquor is drawn, this gas bub- 
bles to the surface, giving to the beer its sparkling, foamy look. 

Spirits.— Alcohol is so volatile that, by the application of heat, it can be driven oflT 
as a vapor from the fermented liquid in which it has been produced. Steam and 
variotis fragrant substances wiU pass over with it, and, if tbey are collected and 
condensed in a cool receiver, a new and stronger liquor* will be formed, having a dis- 
tinctive odor. 

In this way, the alcohol of commerce is distilled from whisky ; brandy, from wine ; 
rum, from fermented molasses ; whiskey, from fermented corn, barley or potatoes; 
and gin, from fermented barley and rye, afterward distilled with juniper berries. In 
all liquors, the base is alcohol. It comprises from 3 to 8 per cent, of ale and porter, 
7 to 17 per cent, of wine, and 40 to 50 per cent, of brandy and whisky. They may 
therefore be considered as alcohol more and less diluted with water and flavored 
with various aromatics. The taste, agreeability, etc., of different liquors— as brandy, 
gin, beer, cider, etc.— may vary greatly, but they all produce certain physiological 
effects due to their common ingredient— alcohol. 

Properties of Alcohol.— Pour a little alcohol into a saucer and apply an ignited 
match. The liquid will suddenly take fire, burning with intense heat, but feeble 
light. In this process, alcohol takes up oxygen from the air, forming carbonic acid 
gas, and water. — Hold a red-hot coil of platinum wire in a goblet containing a few 
drops of alcohol, and a peculiar odor will be noticed. It denotes the formation of 
aldehyde— a substance produced in the slow oxidation of alcohol. Still further oxi- 
dized, the alcohol would be changed into acetic acid— the sour principle of vinegar. 

One of the most noticeable properties of akohol is its affinity for water. When 
strong alcohol is exposed to the air, it absorbs moisture and becomes diluted ; at the 
game time, the spirit itself evaporates. The commercial or proof-spirit is about 
one -half water; the strongest holds ten per cent.; and to obtain absolute or 
waterless alcohol, requires careful distillation in connection wilh some substance, 
as lime, that has a still greater afHnity for water, and so can despoil tlie alcohol.— 
Put the white of an egg- nearly pure albumen— into a cup, and ponr upon it some 
alcohol, or even strong brandy ; the fluid albumen will coagulate, becoming hard 
and solid. In this connection, it is well to remember that albumen is contained in 
our food, while the brain is largely an albuminous substance^ 



130 THE CIRCULATION. 

The influence of alcohol upon the human system 
is similar. Alcohol is a poison. A quart drunk at 
a time, would kill a man like a bullet. Diluted, as 
in wine or whiskey, it dilates the blood-vessels, 
quickens the circulation, hastens the heart-throbs, 
and accelerates the respiration. 

The Effect of Alcohol upon the Heart. — What 
means this rapid flow of the blood ? It shows 
that the heart is overworking. The nerves that lead 
to the minute capillaries and regulate the passage 
of the vital current through the extreme parts of the 
body, are paralyzed by this active narcotic. The 
tiny blood-vessels at once expand. This "Vascular 
enlargement " removes the resistance to the passage 
of the blood, and hence to the beat of the heart, and 
the heart flies like the main spring of a clock when 
the wheels are taken out. * 

Careful experiments show that two ounces of 
alcohol — an amount contained in the daily potations 
of a very moderate ale or whisky drinker — increase 
the heart-beats 6000 in twenty-four hours ; — a degree 
of work represented by that of lifting up a weight 
of seven tons to a height of one foot. Eeducing this 
sum to ounces and dividing, we find that the heart is 

* In the text, the researches of Dr. B. W. Richardson have been accepted as 
authoritative On both sides of the Atlantic. It should, however, be noted that 
Dr. Palmer, of the University of Michigan, claims that alcohol does not, at any- 
time, increase, but, instead, diminishes the action of the heart. Prof. Martin, of 
Johns Hopkins University, from a series of experiments upon dogs, concludes that 
"blood containing one eighth per cent, by volume of absolute alcohol has no 
immediate action on the isolated heart. Blood containing one-fourth per cent, by 
volume of absolute alcohol, almost invariably remarkably diminishes withhi a 
minute the work done by the heart ; blood containing one-half per cent, always 
diminishes it, and even may bring the amount pumped out by the left ventricle to so 
small a quantity that it is not sufficient to supply the coronary arteries ; hence 
blood is drained off by them from the outflow tube and at last none is pumped out 
from its upper end at all." (See note, p. 193.) 



ALCOHOL. 131 

driven to do extra work equivalent to lifting seven 
ounces one foot high 1493 times each hour ! No 
wonder that the drinker feels a reaction, a physical 
languor, after the earliest effects of his indulgence 
have passed away. The heart flags, the brain and 
the muscles feel exhausted, and rest and sleep are 
imperatively demanded. During this time of excite- 
ment, the machinery of life has really been ''run- 
ning down." ''It is hard work," says Richardson, 
" to fight against alcohol; harder than rowing, walk- 
ing, wrestling, coal-heaving, or the tread-mill itself." 

All this is only the first effect of alcohol upon the 
heart. Long-continued use of this disturbing agent 
causes a "Degeneration of the muscular fiber,"* so 
that the heart loses its old power to drive the blood, 
and, after a time, fails to respond even to the spur 
of the excitant that has urged it to ruin. 

Influence upon the Membranes. — The flush of the 
face and the blood-shot eye, that are such noticeable 
effects of even a small quantity of liquor, indicate 
the condition of all the internal organs. The deli- 
cate linings of the stomach, heart, brain, liver, and 
lungs, are reddened, and every tiny vein is inflamed, 
like the blushing nose itself. If the use of liquor is 

* This "Degeneration" of the various tissues of the body, we shall find, as we 
proceed, is one of the most marked efi"ects of alcoholized blood. The change con- 
sists in an excess of liquid, or, more commonly, in a deposit of fat. This fatty 
matter is not an increase of the organ, but it takes the place of a part of its fiber, 
thus weakening the structure, and reducing the power of the tissue to perform 
its function. Almost everywhere in the body we thus find cells— muscle-cells, 
liver-cells, nerve-cells, as the case may be— changing, cne by one, under the influ- 
ence of this potent disorganizer, into unhealthy fat-cells. "Alcohol has well been 
termed," says the London Lancet, "the ' Genius of Degeneration.' " 

The cause of this degeneration can be easily explained. The increased activity 
of the circulation compels a correspondingly-increased activity of the cell-changes : 
but the essential condition of healthful change— the presence of additional oxygen— 
is wanting (see p, 133), and the operation is imperfectly performed. — (Brodie.) 



132 THE CIRCULATION. 

habitual, this " Vascular enlargement," that at first 
slowly passed away after each indulgence, becomes 
permanent, and now the discolored, blotched skin 
reveals the state of the entire mucous membrane. 

We learned on page 55 what a peculiar office the 
membrane fills in nourishing the organs it enwraps. 
Anything that disturbs its delicate structure must 
mar its efficiency. Alcohol has a wonderful affinity 
for water. To satisfy this greed, it will absorb moist- 
ure from the tissues with which it comes in con- 
tact, as well as from their lubricating juices. The 
enlargement of the blood-vessels and their perma- 
nent congestion must interfere with the filtering 
action of the membrane. In time, all the membranes 
become dry, thickened, and hardened ; they then 
shrink upon the sensitive nerve, or stiffen the joint, 
or enfeeble the muscle. The function of these mem- 
branes being deranged, they will not furnish the 
organs with perfected material, and the clogged 
pores will no longer filter their natural fluids. 
Every organ in the body will feel this change. 

Effect upon the Blood.* — From the stomach, alco- 
hol passes directly into the circulation, and so, in a 
few minutes, is swept through the entire system. 
If it be present in sufficient amount and strength, 
its eager desire for water will lead it to absorb 
moisture from the red corpuscles, causing them 
to shrink, change their form, harden, and lose 
some of their ability to carry oxygen : it may even 

* Dr. G. B. Harriman of Boston states, as the result of his observations, that 
alcohol acts upon the oxygen -carrier, the coloring matter of the red corpuscles, 
causing it to settle in one part of the globule, or even to leave the corpuscle, and 
deposit itself in other elements of the blood. Thus the red corpuscle may become 
colorless, distorted, shrunken, and even entirely broken up. 



ALCOHOL. 133 

make them adhere in masses, and so hinder their 
passage through the tiny capillaries.— i?ic/iardso^. 

With most persons who indulge freely in alcoholic 
drinks, the blood is thin, the avidity of alcohol for 
water causing a burning thirst so familiar to all 
drinkers, and hence the use of enormous quantities 
of water, oftener of beer, which unnaturally dilutes 
the blood. The blood then easily flows from a 
wound, and, not coagulating, renders an accident or 
surgical operation very dangerous. 

When the blood tends, as in the case of an ex- 
cessive use of spirits, to coagulate in the capillaries, 
there is a liability of an obstruction to the flow 
of the vital current through the heart,* liver, lungs, 
etc., that may cause disease, and in the brain may 
lay the foundation of paralysis, or, in extreme cases, 
of apoplexy. 

Wherever the alcoholized blood goes through the 
body, it bathes the delicate cells with an irritating, 
narcotic poison, instead of a bland, nutritious sub- 
stance. 

Effect upon the Lungs. — Here we can see how 
certainly the presence of alcohol interferes with the 
red corpuscles in their task of carrying oxygen. 
^' Even so small a quantity as one part of alcohol to 
500 of the blood will materially check the absorption 
of oxygen in the lungs." 

The cells, unable to take up oxygen, retain their 
carbonic acid gas, and so return from the lungs, car- 
rying back, to poison the system, the refuse matter 

* Persons have drunk a large quantity of liquor for a wager, and, as the result of their 
folly, " died upon the spot." The whole of the blood in the heart being turned into 
a clot, the circulation was instantly stopped, and death was instantaneous. 



134 THE CIRCULATION. 

the body has sought to throw off. Thus the lungs 
no longer furnish properly oxygenized blood. 

The rapid stroke of the heart, already spoken of, 
is followed by a corresponding quickening of the 
respiration. The flush of the cheek is repeated in 
the reddened mucous membrane lining the lungs. 

When this "Vascular enlargement " becomes per- 
manent, and the highly-albuminous membrane of the 
air-cells is hardened and thickened as well as con- 
gested, the Osmose of the gases to and fro through 
its pores can no longer be prompt and free as before. 
Even when the effect passes off in a few days after 
the occasional indulgence, there has been, during 
that time, a diminished supply of the life-giving 
oxygen furnished to the system ; weakness follows, 
and, in the case of hard drinkers, there is a marked 
liability to epidemics. * 

Physicians tell us, also, that there is a peculiar 
form of consumption known as Alcoholic Phthisis 
caused by long - continued and excessive use of 
liquor. It generally attacks those whose splendid 
physique has enabled them to "drink deep" with 
apparent impunity. This type of consumption ap- 
pears late in life and is considered incurable. Severe 
cases of pneumonia are also generally fatal with 
inebriates, f 

* " There is no doubt that alcohol alters and impairs tissues so that they are more 
prone to disease."— (Z>r. G. K. Sabine.) A volume of statistics could be filled with 
quotations like the following: "Mr. Hnber, who saw in one town in Russia two 
thousand one hundred and sixty persons perish with the cholera in twenty days, 
said : ' It is a most remarkable circumstance that persons given to drink have been 
swept away like flies. In Tiflis, with twenty thousand inhabitants, every drunkard 
has fallen,— all are dead, not one remaining/ " 

t The Influence of Alcohol is continued in the chapter on Digestion. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 135 

PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

1. Why does a dry, cold atmosphere favorably affect catarrh? f 

2. Why should we put on extra coveriug when we lie down to 
sleep? 

3. Is it well to throw off our coats or shawls when we come In 
heated from a long walk ? 

4. Why are close-fitting collars or neck-ties injurious? 

5. Which side of the heart is the more liable to inflammation ? 

6. What gives the toper his red nose ? 

7. Why does not the arm die when the surgeon ties the principal ) 
artery leading to it? ^^ 

8. When a fowl is angry, why does its comb redden ? 

9. Why does a fat man endure cold better than a lean one ? ' 

10. Why does one become thin during a long sickness? 

11. What would you do if you should come home " wet to the skin " ? 
13. When the cold air strikes the face, why does it first blanch and 

then flush ? 

13. What must be the effect of tight lacing upon the circulation of 
the blood ? 

14. Do you know the position of the large arteries in the limbs, so 
that in case of accident you could stop the flow of blood ? 

15. When a person is said to be good-hearted, is it a physical truth ? 

16. Why does a hot foot-bath relieve the headache ? 

17. Why does the body of a drowned or strangled person turn blue ? 

18. What are the little " kernels " in the arm-pits ? 

19. When we are excessively warm, would the thermometer show 
any rise of temperature in the body ? 

20. What forces besides that of the heart aid in propelling the blood ? 

21. Why can the pulse be best felt in the wrist ? 

22. Why are starving people exceedingly sensitive to any jar? 

23. Why will friction, an application of horse-radish leaves, or a 
blister, relieve internal congestion ? 

24. Why are students very liable to cold feet ? 

25. Is the proverb that ''blood is thicker than water" literally true? 

26. What is the effect upon the circulation of " holding the breath"? 

27. Which side of the heart is the stronger ? 



136 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

28. How is the heart itself nourished ?* 

29. Does any venous blood reach the heart without coming through 
the vense cavae ? 

30. What would you do, in the absence of a surgeon, in the case of 
a severe wound ? See Appendix. 

31. What would you do in the case of a fever ? See Appendix. 

32. What is the most injurious effect of alcohol upon the blood? 
38. Are our bodies the same from day to day ? 

34. Show how life comes by death. 

35. Is not the truth just stated as applicable to moral and intellectual, 
as to physical life ? 

36. What vein begins and ends with capillaries? Ans. The portal 
vein commences with capillaries in the digestive organs, and ends with 
the same kind of vessels in the liver. (See p. 153-) 

* The coronary artery, springing from the aorta just after its origin, carries 
blood to the muscular walls of the heart ; the venous blood comes back through the 
coronary veins, and empties directly into the right auricle. 



VI. 

DIGESTION 

AND 

FOOD. 



A man puts some ashes in a hill of corn and thereby doubles its 
yield. Then he says, " My ashes have I turned into corn.'" Weak 
from his labor., he eats of his corn, and new life comes to him. Again, 
he says, " / have changed my corn into a man. " This also he feels 
to be the truth. 

It is the problem of the body, remember, that we are discussing. A 
man is more than the body ; to confound the body and the man is 
zvorse than confounding the body and the clothing. — John Darby. 



BLACKBOARD ANALYSIS. 



' 1. Why We Need Food. 
2. What Food Dobs. 



P 
O 
O 
P^ 

P 
<i 

O 



3. Kinds op Food. 



1. Nitrogenous. 

2. Carbonaceous. 

3. Minerals. 
4. One Kind is Insufficient. 



a. The Sugars. 

b. The Fats. 



5. Object op Digestion. 



6. Process or Digestion - 



— General Description. 

1. Mastication and In- j a.The Saliva. 

salivation ) b.Processof Swallowing. 

i a. The Stomach. 

2. Gastric Digestion. . ■< b. The Gastric Juice. 

( c. The Chyme, 
f — Description. 

S.IntestinalDigestion. -j ^ ?{;| ^anereatic Juice. 
[ c. The Small Intestine. 
. . , ^„„„,. „ ( a. Bv the Veins. 

4. Absorption "^ b. By the Lacteals. 



7. CoiJIPLEXITr OF THE PROCESS OF DIGESTION. 



8. Htgiene 



1. Length of Time required. 

fa. Beef, 

b. Mutton. 

c. Lamb. 

2. Value of different 1 d. Pork. 



kinds of Food. 



3. The Stimulants. 



e. Fish. 

f. Milk. 

! g. Cheese, 
(.h. Eggs. etc. 

Coffee. 

Tea. 

Chocolate. 



\l 



4. Cooking of Food. 

5. Rapid Eating. 

6. Quantity and Quahty of Food. 

7. When Food should be taken. 

8. How " " '' " 

9. Need of a Variety. 



9. The Wonders of Digestion 

10. Diseases 



1. Dyspepsia, 

2. The Mumps. 



11. Alcoholic Drinks o 
AND Narcotics. ~ 



1. Is Alcohol a Food? 

2. Effect upon the Digestion. 
8. " " '' Liver. 

4- Does Alcohol impart heat ? 

5. ■' " " strength ? 

6. The Effect upon the Waste^of the Body. 

7. Alcohol creates a progressive appetite for it- 



DIGESTION AND FOOD. 



WHY we need Food.— We have learned that 
our bodies are constantly giving off waste 
matter — the products of the fire, or oxidation, as the 
chemist terms the change going on within us (note, 
p. 105). A man without food will starve to death in 
a few days, i. e., the oxygen will have consumed 
all the available flesh of his body. * To replace the 
daily outgo, we need about two and a quarter pounds 
of food, and three pints of drink, f 

Including the eight hundred pounds of oxygen 
taken from the air, a man uses in a year about a ton 

* The stories current in the newspapers of persons who live for years without 
food, are, of course, untrue. The case of the Welsh Fasting Girl, which excited 
general interest throughout Great Britain, and was extensively copied in our own 
press, is in point. She had succeeded in deceiving not only the puhlic but, as some 
claim, her own parents. At last a strict watch was set by day and night, precluding 
the possibility of her receiving any food except at the hands of the committee, from 
whom she steadily refused it. In a few days she died from actual starvation. The 
youth of the girl, the apparent honesty of the parents, and the tragical sequel, make 
it one of the most remarkable cases of the kind on record. 

t "From experiments jjerformed while living on an exclusive diet of bread, fish, 
meat, and butter, with coffee and water for drink, we have found that the entire 
quantity of food required during twentj^-four hours, by a man in full health, and 
taking free exercise in the open air, is as follows : 

Meat 16 oiinces. or 1.00 lb. avoirdupois. 

Bread 19 " "■ 1.19 lbs. " 

Butter, or fat SK '' " 0.22 lbs. 

Water • . 52 fluid oz." 3.38 lbs. 

That is to say, rather less than two and a half pounds of solid food, and rather over 
three pints of liquid food.'''— Dalton. 



140 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

and a half of material.* Yet during this entire 
time his weight may have been nearly uniform, f 
Our bodies are but molds, in which a certain quan- 
tity of matter, checked for a time on its ceaseless 
round, receives a definite form. They may be 
likened, says Huxley, to an eddy in the river, which 
retains its shape for a while, yet every instant each 
particle of water is changing. 

What Food Does. — We make no force ourselves. 
We can only use that which nature provides. I All 
our strength comes from the food we eat. Food is 
force — that is, it contains latent within it a power 
which it gives up when it is decomposed. § Oxygen 
is the magic key which unlocks for our use this hid- 

* The following is the dailj^ ration of a United States soldier. It is said to be the 
most generous in the world : — 

Bread or flour 22 ounces. 

Fresh or salt beef (or pork or bacon, 12 oz.) .... 20 " 

Potatoes (three times per week) 16 " 

Rice , . 1.6 " 

Coffee (or tea, 0.24 oz.) 1.6 " 

Sugar 2.4 " 

Beans 0.64 gill. 

Vinegar 0.32 '• 

Salt ... - 0.16 '• 

t If, however, he were kept on the scale-pan of a sensitive balance, he would find 
that his weight is constantly changing, increasing with each meal, and then gradu- 
ally decreasing. 

t We draw from nature at once our substance, and the force by which we operate 
upon her ; being, so far, parts of her great system, immersed in it for a short time 
and to a small extent. Enfolding us, as it were, within her arms, Nature lends us 
her forces to expend; we receive them, and pass them on, giving them the impress 

of our will, and bending them to our designs, for a little while ; and then Yes ; 

then it is all one. The great procession pauses not, nor flags a moment, for our ftill. 
The powers which Nature lent to us she resumes to herself, or lends, it may be, to 
another ; the use which we have made of them, or might have made and did not, 
written in her book for ever.— Health and its Conditions. 

§ This force is chemical affinity. It binds together the molecules which compose 
the food we eat. When oxygen tears the molecules to pieces and makes them up 
into smaller ones the force is set free. As we shall learn in Physics, it can be turned 
into heat, muscular motion, electricity, etc. The principle that the different kinds 
offeree can be changed into one another without loss, is called the Conservation of 
energy, and is one of the grandest discoveries of modern science. (Physics, pages 
37, 40, 208.) 



KINDS OF FOOD NEEDED. 141 

den store.* Putting food into our bodies is like 
placing a tense spring within a watch ; every motion 
of the body is only a new direction given to this 
food-force, as every movement of the hand on the 
dial is but the manifestation of the power of the 
bent spring in the watch. We use the pent-up ener- 
gies of meat, bread, and vegetables which are placed 
at our service, and transfer them to a higher theater 
of action, f 

Kinds of Food Needed. — From what has been 
said it is clear that, in order to produce heat and 
force, we need something that will burn, i. e., with 
which oxygen can combine. Experiment has 
proved that to build up every organ, and keep the 
body in the best condition, we require three kinds 
of food. 

1. Nitrogenous Food, or that which contains 
much nitrogen, is a prominent constituent of the 
tissues of the body, and is therefore necessary to 
their growth and repair. I The most common forms 
are whites of eggs — which are nearly pure albumen ; 
casein — the chief constituent of cheese ; lean meat ; 
and gluten — the viscid substance which gives tenac- 

* We have spoken of the mystery that envelops the process of the conversion 
of food-force into muscular-force (note, p. 108). All physiologists agree that mus- 
cular power has its source in the chemical decomposition of certain substances 
whereby their potential energy is released. Probably some of the food undergoes 
this chemical change before it passes out of the alimentary canal ; possibly some is 
broken up by the oxygen while it is being swept along by the blood ; but. probably 
by far the largest part is converted into the various tissues of the body, and finally 
becomes a waste product only after there takes place in the tissue itself that chem- 
ical disorganization that sets free its stored-up power.— Foster's Physiology. 

t It is a grand thought that we can thus transform what is common and gross 
into the refined and spiritual ; that out of waving wheat, wasting flesh, running 
water, and dead minerals, we can realize the glorious possibilities of human life . 

X Since this kind of food closely resembles albumen, it is sometimes called 
Albuminous. The term Proteid is also used. 



142 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

ity to dough. Bodies having a great deal of nitro- 
gen readily oxidize. Hence the peculiar character 
of the quick-changing, force-exciting muscle. 

2. Carbonaceous Food — i. e., food containing 
much carbon, consists of two kinds — viz., the sugars, 
and the fats. 

(1.) The sugars contain hydrogen and oxygen in 
the proportion to form water, and about the same 
amount of carbon. They may, therefore, be consid- 
ered as water, with carbon diffused through it. In 
digestion, starch and gum are changed to sugar, and 
so are ranked with this class. 

(2) The fats are like the sugars in composition, but 
contain less oxygen, and not in the proportion to 
form water. They combine with more oxygen in 
burning, and so give off more heat. 

The non-nitrogenous elements of the food have, 
however, other uses than to develop heat.* Fat is 
essential to the assimilation of the food, while sugar 
and starch aid in digestion and raay be converted 
into fat.f Fat and carbonaceous material both 
enter into the composition of the various tissues, 
and when, by the breaking-up of the contractile 
substance of the muscle, their latent energy is set 
free, they become the source of muscular force, as 
well as heat. While the tendency of the albuminous 
food is to excite chemical action, and hence the 
release of energy, the fats and carbonaceous food 

* The heat they produce in burning may be turned into motion of the muscles, 
according to the principle of the Conservation of energy (p. 140, note) ; while all the 
structures of the body in their oxidation develop heat. 

t In Turkey, the ladies of the harem are fed on honey and thick gruel, to make 
flesh, which is considered to enhance their beauty.— The negroes on the sugar plan- 
tations of the South always grow fat during the sugar-making season. 



THREE KINDS OF FOOD. 143 

may be laid up in the body to serve as a storehouse 
of energy to supply future needs. 

3. Mineral Matters.— Food should contain water, 
and certain common minerals, such as iron,* sul- 
phur, magnesia, phosphorus, salt, and potash. 
About three pints of water are needed daily to dis- 
solve the food and carry it through the circulation, 
to float off waste matter, to lubricate the tissues, 
and by evaporation to cool the system. It also 
enters largely into the composition of the body. A 
man weighing 154 pounds contains 100 pounds of 
water, about 12 gallons,— enough, if rightly ar- 
ranged, to drown him.t 

Iron goes to the blood disks ; lime combines with 
phosphoric and carbonic acids to give solidity to the 
bones and teeth; phosphorus is essential to the 
activity of the brain. Salt is necessary to the 
secretion of some of the digestive fluids, and also to 
aid in working off from the system its waste prod- 
ucts. These various minerals, except iron — some- 
times given as a medicine, and salt — universally 
used as a condiment, t are contained in small, but 



* While the body can build up a solid from liquid materials on the one hand, on 
the other it can pour iron through its veins and reduce the hardest textures to blood. 
—Hintpn. 

t It is said that Blumenbach had a perfect mummy of an adult Teneriffian, which 
with the viscera weighed only seven and a half pounds. 

X "Animals will travel long distances to obtain salt. Men will barter gold for 
it ; indeed, among the Gallas and on the coast of Sierra Leone, brothers will sell 
their sisters, husbands their wives, and parents their children for salt. In the 
district of Accra, on the gold coast of Africa, a handful of salt is the most valuable 
thing upon earth after gold, and will purchase a slave. Miingo Park tells us that 
with the Mandingoes and Bambaras the use of salt is such a luxury that to say of a 
man 'he flavors his food with salt,' it is to imply that he is rich ; and children will 
suck a piece of rock-salt as if it were sugar. No stronger mark of respect or aft'ec- 
tion can be shown in Muscovy, thau the sending of salt from the tables of the rich 
to their poorer friends. In the book of Leviticus it is expressly commanded as one 



144 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

suflScient quantities in meat, bread, and vege- 
tables. 

One Kind of Food is InsuflBcient — A person fed 
on starch alone, would die. It would be a clear case 
of nitrogen starvation. On the other hand, as nitro- 
genous food contains carbon, the elements of water, 
and various mineral matters, life could be supported 
on that alone. But such a prodigious quantity of 
lean meat, for example, would be required to furnish 
the other elements, that not only would it be very 
expensive, but it is likely that after a time the labor 
of digestion would be too onerous, and the system 
would give up the task in despair. The need of a 
diet containing both nitrogenous and carbonaceous 
elements is shown in the fact that even in the trop- 
ical regions oil is relished as a dressing upon salad. 
Instinct everywhere suggests the blending. Butter 
is used with bread ; rice is boiled with milk ; cheese' 
is eaten with maccaroni, and beans are baked with 
pork. 

The Object of Digestion. — If our food were cast 
directly into the blood, it could not be used. For 
example, although the chemist cannot see wherein 
the albumen of the egg differs from the albumen of 
the blood, yet if it be injected into the veins it is 

of the ordinances of Moses, that every oblation of meat upon the altar shall be 
seasoned with salt, without lacking ; and hence it is called the Salt of the Covenant 
of God. The Greeks and Romans also used salt in their sacrificial cakes ; and it is 
still used in the services of the Latin church— the '• parva mica,' oi- pinch of salt, 
being in the ceremony of baptism, put into the child's mouth, while the priest says, 
'Receive the salt of wisdom, and may it be a propitiation to thee for eternal life,' 
Everywhere and almost always, indeed, it has been re<?arded as emblematical of 
wisdom, wit. and immortality. To taste a man's salt, was to be bound by the rites 
of hospitality ; and no o;irh was more solemn than that which was sworn upon 
bread and salt. To sprinkle the meat with salt was to drive away the devil, and to 
this day, nothing is more unlucky than to spill the salt.''— Letheby, On Food. 



MASTICATION AND INSALIVATION. 



145 



unavailable for the pur- 
poses required, and is 
thrown out again. In the 
course of digestion the 
food is modified in various 
ways whereby it is fitted 
for the use of the body. 
We call this process assim- 
ilation — a name for a work 
done solely by the vital 
organs and so mysterious 
in its nature that the 
wisest physiologist gets 
only glimpses here and 
there of its operations. 

The General Plan of Di- 
gestion. — Nature has pro- 
vided for this purpose an 
entire laboratory, furnished 
with a chemist's outfit of 
knives, mortars, baths. 



Fig. h5. 




The Stomach and Intestines. 1, 
stomach ; 2, duodenum ; 3, small in- 
testine ; 4, termination of the ileum ; 
5, ccecum ; 6, vermiform appendix ; 
7, ascending colon ; 8, transverse co- 
lon ; 9, descending colon ; 10, sigmoid 
flexure of the colon; 11, rectum; 12. 
spleen — a gland whose action is not 
understood. 



chemicals, filters, etc. The 
food is (1) chewed, mixed 
with the saliva in the mouth, and swallowed ; (2) it is 
acted upon by the gastric juice in the stomach ; (3) 
passed into the intestines, where it receives the bile, 
pancreatic juice, and other liquids which completely 
dissolve it ;* (4) the nourishing part is absorbed in 
the stomach and intestines, and thence thrown into 
the blood-vessels, whence it is whirled through the 

* "Digestion," says Berzelius, "is a process of rinsing." The digestive apparatus 
secretes, and again absorbs with the food which it has dissolved, not less than three 
gallons of liquid per day.— Barnard, Bidder, Schmidt, and others. 



146 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

Fig. U6. 




The Parotid— one of the salivary glands. 

body by the torrent of the circulation. These 
processes take place within the alimentary canal, 
a narrow, tortuous tube which commences at the 
mouth, and is about thirty feet long.* 

I. Mastication and Insalivation.— 1. The Saliva. — 
The food while being cut and ground by the teeth is 
mixed with the saliva. This is a thin, colorless, 
frothy, slightly alkaline liquid, secreted f by the 
mucous membrane lining the mouth, and by three 
pairs of salivary glands (parotid, submaxillary, and 
sublingual) opening into the mouth through ducts, 
or tubes. , The amount varies, but on the average is 
about three pounds per day, and in health is always 

* The diges^tive apparatus is lined with mucous membrane, that possesses fanc- 
tions simUar to those of the outer skin. It absorbs certain substances and rejects 
waste matter. On account of this close connection between the inner and the outer 
skin, it is not surprising to find that in the lowest animals digestion is performed by- 
means of the external skin. The amseba, which is merely a gelatinous mass, wlien 
it takes its food, extemporizes a stomach for the occasion. It simply wraps itself 
around the morsel, and, like an animated apple-dumpling with the apple for food 
and the crust for animal, goes on with the process until the operation is completed, 
when it unrolls itself again and lets the indigestible residue escape. The common 
hydra of our brooks can live when turned inside out, like a glove ; either side 
serving for skin or stomach, as necessity requires. 

t By secretion is meant merely a separation or picking out from the blood. 



GASTRIC BiGESTION. 147 

sufficient to keep the mouth moist. * It softens and 
dissolves the food, and thus enables us to get the 
flavor or taste of what we eat. It contains a pecu- 
liar organic principle called ptyalin,\ which, acting 
upon the starch of the food, changes it into glocose 
or grape-sugar. 

2. The Process of Stv allowing. — The food thus 
finely pulverized, softened, and so lubricated by the 
viscid saliva as to prevent friction as it passes 
over the delicate membranes, is conveyed by the 
tongue and cheek to the back of the mouth. The 
soft palate lifts to close the nasal opening ; the epi- 
glottis shuts down, and along this bridge the food is 
borne, without danger of falling into the windpipe 
or escaping into the nose. The muscular bands of 
the throat now seize it and take it beyond our con- 
trol. The fibers of the oesophagus contract above, 
while they are lax below, and convey the food by a 
worm-like motion into the stomach. % 

II. Gastric Digestion. — 1. The Stomach is an irreg- 
ular expansion of the digestive tube. Its shape has 



* The presence and often the thought of food will " make one's month water." 
Fear checks the flow of saliva, and hence the East Indians sometimes attempt to 
detect theft by making those who are suspected chew rice. The person from whom 
it comes out driest is adjudged the thief ! 

t One part of ptyalin will convert 8,000 parts of starch into sugar.— Ma^^e. 

The saliva has no chemical action on the fats or the albuminous bodies. Its froth- 
iness enables it to carry oxj^gen into the stomach, and this is thought to be of ser- 
vice. The action of the ptyalin commences with great promptness, and sugar has 
been detected, it is said, within half a minute after the starch was placed in the 
mouth. The process, however, is not finished there, but continues after reaching 
the stomach.— Fa^e?2ifm. 

The saliva thus prepares a small portion of food for absoi'ption at once, and so 
insures at the very beginning of the operation of digestion a supply of force-pro- 
ducing material for the immediate use of the system. 

t We can observe the peculiar motion of the oesophagus by watching a horse's 
neck when he is drinking. 



148 



DIGESTION %ND FOOD. 

Fig. hi 



VoOCOilvik^W^. 




-^\\V.^\xwe, 



Diagram of the Digestion of tlie Food. Notice how the food is submitted to the action 
of alkaline, acid, and then alkaline fluids. {See notej). 152.) 



GASTRIC DIGESTION. 149 

been compared to that of a bagpipe. It holds about 
three pints, though it is susceptible of some dis- 
tension. It is composed of an inner, mucous mem- 
brane, which secretes the digestive fluids ; an outer, 
smooth, well-lubricated serous one, which prevents 
friction, and between them a stout, muscular coat. 
The last consists of two principal layers of longi- 
tudinal and circular fibers. When these contract, 
they produce a peculiar churning motion, called the 
peristaltic {peri, round ; stallein, to arrange) move- 
ment, which thoroughly mixes the contents of the 
stomach. At the further end, the muscular fibers 
contracting form a gateway, the pylorus (a gate), as 
it is called, which carefully guards the exit, and 
allows no food to pass from the stomach until prop- 
erly prepared.* 

2. The Gastric Juice. — The lining of the stomach 
is soft, velvety, and of a pinkish hue ; but, as soon as 
food is admitted, the blood-vessels fill, the surface 
becomes of a bright red, and soon there exudes from 
the gastric glands a thin, colorless fluid — the gastric 
juice. This is secreted to the amount of twelve 
pounds per day.f Its acidity is probably due to 
muriatic or lactic acid — the acid of sour milk. It 
contains a peculiar organic principle called pepsin I 



* With a wise discretion, however, it opens for buttons, coins, etc., swallowed 
by accident ; when we overload the stomach, it seems to become weary of constantly 
denying egress, and, finally, giving up in despair, lets everything through. 

t The amount secreted by a healthy adult is variously estimated from five to 
thirty-seven pounds. As it is re-absorbed by the blood, there is no loss. 

t Pepsin is prepared and sold as an article of commerce. The best is said to be 
made from the stomachs of young, healthy Digs, Avhich, just before being killed, are 
excited with savory food, that they are not allowed to eat. One grain is sufficient 
to dissolve 800 grains of coagulated white of egg. A temperature of 130° renders 
pepsin inert. 



150 



DIGESTION AND FOOD. 



(peptein, to digest), which acts as a ferment to 
produce changes in the food, without being itself 
modified. 

The flow of gastric juice is influenced by various 
circumstances. Cold water checks it for a time, and 
ice for a longer period. Anger, fatigue, and anxiety 
delay and even suspend the secretion. The gastric 
juice has no effect on the fats or the sugars of the 
food ; its influence being mainly conflned to the 
albuminous bodies, which it so changes that they 
become soluble in water. * 

The food, reduced by the action of the gastric 
juice to a grayish, soupy mass, called chyme (kime), 
escapes through that jealously- guarded door, the 
pylorus. 

Firf. Lfi. 




A vertical Section of the Duodenum, highly magnified. 
2, epithelium, or cuticle; 3, onfices of intestinal glands; 



1, a fold-like liUus ,- 
5. ojifice of duodenal 



glands ; 4, T, mare highly magnified sections of the cells of a dvodenal gland. 



III. Intestinal Digestion. — The structure of the 
intestines is like that of the stomach. There is the 



* The question is often asked why the stomach itself is not digested hy the 
gastric juice, since it belongs to the albuminoiis substances. Some assign as the 
reason that life protects that organ, and that living tissues cannot be digested. The 
fallacy of this has been clearly shown by introducing the legs of live frogs and the 
ears of rabbits through an opening made in a dog's stomach, where they were readily 
digested. The latest opinion is that the blood which circulates so freely through the 
vessels of the lining of the stomach, being alkaline, protects the tissue against the 
acidity of the gastric juice. 



INTESTINAL DIGESTION. 151 

same outer, smooth, serous membrane (peritoneum) 
to prevent friction, the lining of mucous membrane 
to secrete the digestive fluids, and the muscular 
coating to push the food forward. The intestines 
are divided into the small, and the large. The first 
part of the former opens out of the stomach, and is 
called the dii-o-de'-num, as its length is equal to the 
breadth of twelve fingers. Here the chyme is acted 
upon by the bile, and the pancreatic juice. 

1. The Bile is secreted by the liver. This gland 
weighs about four pounds, and is the largest in the 
body. It is located on the right side, below the dia- 
phragm. The bile is of a dark, golden color, and 
bitter taste. About three pounds are secreted per 
day. When not needed for digestion, it is stored in 
the gall cyst.* Its action on the food, though not 
fully understood, is necessary to life, f 

2. The Pancreatic Juice is a secretion of the 
pancreas, or ** sweet-bread " — a gland nearly as 
large as the hand, lying behind the stomach. It 
is alkaline, and contains a ferment called trypsin. 
This juice has the power of changing starch to 
sugar. Its main work, however, is in breaking up 
the globules of fat into myriads of minute particles, 
that mix freely with water, and remain suspended 
in it like butter in new milk. The whole mass now 



* A gall-bladder can be obtained from a butcher, and the contents kept in a bottle 
for examination. 

t Experiments have been made with animals by opening the gall-bladder and 
allowing the gall as secreted to flow out of the body without entering the stomach. 
Flint describes a case where a dog was thus treated. Although plentifully fed, he 
died in thirty eight days. He suffered no pain, and death came gradually, merely 
through a failure of the vital powers.— The alkaline bile, by neutralizing the acid 
contents of the stomach as they flow into the duodenum, prepares the way for the 
pancreatic juice, while the bile has also a slight emulsifying power (note p. 154). 



152 



DIGESTION AND FOOD. 




13--K 



The Mucous Membrane of the Ilium^ highly magnified. 1, cellular structure of the 
epithelium, or outer layer ; 2, a vein ; 3, fibrous layer ; 4, villi covered with epithelium ; 
5, a villus in section, showing its lining of epithelium, with its blood-vessels and lym- 
phatics ; 6, a villus partially uncovered ; 7, a villus stripped of its epithelium ; %,lym^ 
phatics or lacteats}) 3, orifices of the glands opening between the villi; 10, 11, 12, 
■glands ; 13, capillaries surrounding the orifices of the gland. 

assumes a milky look, whence it is term.ed chyle 
(klle), and passes on to the small intestine.* 

3. The Small Intestine is an intricately-folded 
tube, about twenty feet long, and from an inch to 
an inch and one-half in diameter. As the chyle 
passes through this tortuous channel, it receives 



* "It is curious to observe that while the gastric juice is decidedly acid, the fluids 
with which the food next comes iuto contact Jire alkaline. It is thus submitted to 
the operation alternately of alkaline, acid, and again of alkaline secretions. In the 
herbivora there is also a second acid juice. The reason of these alternations is not 
known, but it can hardly be doubted that they serve to make the digestion of the 
food more perfect. And although the solvent power of the gastric juice is placed in 
abeyance Avhen its acidity is neutralized by the alkaline fluids, yet it appears to be 
the case here, as in respect to the saliva, that effects are produced by the mixture of 
the various secretions which are poured together into the digestive tube, that would 
not result froni either Q\one.''''—Hinton, 



ABSORPTION. 153 

along the entire route secretions which seem to 
combine the action of all the previous ones — starch, 
fat, and albumen being equally affected. 

IV. Absorption is performed in two ways, by the 
veins, and the lacteals. (1.) The veins in the stom- 
ach * immediately begin to take up the water, salt, 
grape-sugar, and other substances that need no 
special preparation. The starch, and the albumi- 
nous bodies are also absorbed as they are properly 
digested, and this process continues along the whole 
length of the alimentary canal. In the small intes- 
tine, there is a multitude of tiny projections {villi) 
from the folds of the mucous membrane, more than 
7000 to the square inch, giving it a soft, velvety look. 
These little rootlets, reaching out into the milky 
fluid, drink into their minute blood-vessels the 
nutritious part of every sort of food. (2.) The 
lacteals \ (p. 123), a set of vessels starting in the 
villi side by side with the veins, absorb the prin- 
cipal part of the fat. They convey the chyle 
through the lymphatics and the thoracic duct 
(Fig. 43) to the veins, and so within the sweep of 
the circulation. 

The Portal Vein X carries to the liver the food 
absorbed by the veins of the stomach and the villi 
of the intestines. On the way, it is greatly modified 

* The veins and the lacteals are separated from the food by a thin, moist mem- 
brane, through the pores of which the fluid-food rapidly passes, in accordance with 
a beautiful law {Physics, page 50) called the Osmose of liquids. If two liquids of dif- 
ferent densities are separated by an animal membrane, they will mix with consider- 
able force. There is a similar law regulating the interchange of gases through a 
porous partition, in obedience to which the carbonic acid of the blood, and the 
oxygen of the lungs, are exchanged through the thin membrane of the air-cells. 

t From lac, milk, because of the milky look given to their contents by the chyle. 

X So named because it enters the liver by a sort of gateway. 



154 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

by the action of the blood itself. In the cells of the 
liver, it undergoes as mysterious a process as that 
performed by the lymphatic glands, and is then cast 
into the circulation. * The food, potent with force, 
is now buried in that river of life from which the 
body springs momentarily afresh. 

The Complexity of the process of digestion, as 
compared with the simplicity of respiration and 
circulation, is very marked. The mechanical opera- 
tion of mastication ; the lubrication of the food by 
mucus ; the provision for the security of the respir- 
atory organs ; the grasping by the muscles of the 
throat ; the churning movement of the stomach ; 
the guardianship of the .pylorus ; the timely intro- 
duction by safe and protected channels of the saliva, 
the gastric juice, the bile, the pancreatic juice, and 
the intestinal fluids, each with its special adaptation ; 
the curious peristaltic motion of the intestines ; the 
twofold absorption by the veins and the lacteals ; 
the final transformation in the lymphatics, the por- 
tal vein, and the liver, — all these present a com- 
plexity of detail, the necessity of which can be 
explained only when we reflect upon the variety of 
the substances we use for food, and the importance 
of its thorough preparation before it is allowed to 
enter the blood. 

The Length of Time Required for digesting a full 
meal is from two to four hours. It varies with the 

* In these cells, the sugar is chancjed into a kind of starch called glycogen. This 
is insoluble, and so is stored up in the liver, and even in the substance of the 
muscles, until it is needed bj' the body, when it is once more converted into soluble 
sugar and taken up by the circulation. The liver also changes the waste and surplus 
albuminous matter into bile, and into urea and uric acid— the forms in which nitro- 
genized waste is excreted by tbe kidneys. 



DIFFERENT KINDS OP FOOD. 155 

kind of food, state of the system, perfection of mas- 
tication, etc. In the celebrated observations made 
upon Alexis St. Martin * by Dr. Beaumont, his stom- 
ach was found empty in two and a half hours after 
a meal of roast turkey, potatoes, and bread. Pigs' 
feet and boiled rice were disposed of in an hour. 
Fresh, sweet apples took one and a half hours ; 
boiled milk, two hours ; and unboiled, a quarter of 
an hour longer. In eggs, which occupied the same 
time, the case was reversed, — raw ones being 
digested sooner than cooked. Roast beef and mut- 
ton required three, and three and a quarter hours 
respectively ; veal, salt beef, and broiled chicken 
remained for four hours ; and roast pork enjoyed 
the bad pre-eminence of needing five and a quarter 
hours. 

Value of the Different Kinds of Food. — Beef and 
Mutton possess the greatest nutritive value of any 
of the meats. Lamb is less strengthening, but more 
delicate. Like the young of all animals, it should 
be thoroughly cooked, and at a high temperature, 
properly to develop its delicious flavor. Pork has 
much carbon. It sometimes contains a parasite 
called trichina, which may be transferred to the 
human system, producing disease and often death. 

* In 1822, Alexis St. Martin, a Canadian in the employ of the American Fur 
Company, was accidentally shot in the left side. Two years after, the wound was 
entirely healed, leaving, however, an opening about two and a half inches in cir- 
cumference into the stomach. Through this the mucous membrane protruded, 
forming a kind of valve which prevented the discharge of food but could be readily 
depressed by the finger, thus exposing the interior. For several years he was under 
the care of Dr. Beaumont, a skillful physician, who experimented upon him by giv- 
ing various kinds of food, and watching their digestion through this opening. By 
means of these observations, and others performed on Katherine Kntt, a woman 
who had a similar aperture in the stomach, we have very important information as 
to the digestibility of different kinds of food. 



156 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

The only preventive is thorough cooking. Fish is 
more watery than flesh, and many find it difficult 
of digestion. Like meat, it loses its mineral con- 
stituents and natural juices when salted, and is 
much less nourishing. Oysters are highly nutri- 
tious, but are more easily assimilated when raw 
than when cooked. Milk is a model food, as it con- 
tains albumen, starch, fat, and mineral matter. 'No 
single substance can sustain life for so long a time. 
Cheese is very nourishing — one pound being equal 
in value to two of meat, but is not adapted to a 
weak stomach. Eggs are most easily digested 
when the white is barely coagulated and the yolk is 
unchanged. Bread* should be made of unbolted 
flour. The bran of wheat furnishes the mineral 
matter we need in our bones and teeth, gives the 
bulk so essential to the proper distension of the 
organs, and by its roughness gently stimulates them 
to action. Corn is rich in fat. It contains, how- 
ever, more indigestible matter than any other grain, 
except oats, and is less nutritious than wheat, f 
The Potato is two-thirds water, — the rest being 
mainly starch. Ripe Fruits, and those vegetables 

* Very fresh bread, warm biscuit, etc., are condensed by mastication into a pasty 
mass that is not easily penetrated by the gastric juice, and hence they are not 
healthful. In Gennany, bread is not allowed to be sold at the baker's till it is 
twenty-four hours old— a wise provision for those who have not strength to resist 
temptation. This rule of eating may well be adopted by every one who cares more 
for his health than for a gratification of his appetite. 

t Persons unaccustomed to the use of corn find it liable to produce derangement 
of the digestive organs. This was made fearfully apparent in the prisons at Ander- 
sonville during the late civil war. The vegetable food of the Federal prisoners had 
hitherto been chiefly wheat-bread and potatoes,— the corn bread so exteusively used 
at the South being quite new to most of them as a constant article of diet. It soon 
became not only loathsome, but productive of serious diseases. On the other hand, 
it was the principal article in the rations of the Confederate soldiers, to whom habit 
made it a nutritious and wholesome form of food, as was shown by their endurance. 
-r-FlinVs Physiology of Man, vol. 2, page 41 



THE STIMULANTS. 157 

usually eaten raw, dilute the more concentrated 
food, and also supply the blood with acids, which 
are cooling in summer, and useful, perhaps, in 
assimilation. /- I . 

The Stimulants. — Coffee is about half nitrogen, 
and the rest fatty, saccharine, and mineral sub- 
stances. It is, therefore, of much nutritive value, 
especially when taken with milk and sugar. Its 
peculiar stimulating property is due to a principle 
called caffeine. Its aroma is developed by browning, 
but destroyed by burning. No other substance so 
soon relieves the sense of fatigue.^ Taken in 
moderation, it clears the intellect, tranquillizes the 
nerves, and usually leaves no unpleasant reaction. 
It serves also as a kind of negative food, since it 
retards the process of waste. 

In some cases, however, it produces a rush of 
blood to the head, and should be at once discarded. 
At the close of a full meal it hinders digestion, and 
at night produces wakefulness. In youth, when the 
vital powers are strong, and the functions of nature 
prompt in rallying from fatigue, it is not needed, 
and may be injurious in stimulating a sensitive 
organization. 

Tea possesses an active principle called theine. 
When used moderately, its effects are similar to 
those of coffee, except that it rarely produces wake- 
fulness. It contains tannin, which, if the tea is 
strong, coagulates the albumen of the food — tans it — 
and thus delays digestion. In excess, tea causes 

* In the late civil war, the first desire of the soldiers upon haltin<;r after a weari- 
some march, was to make a cup of coffee. This was taken without milk, and often 
without sugar, yet was always welcome. 



158 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

nervous tremor, disturbed sleep, palpitation of the 
heart, and indigestion. * 

Chocolate contains much fat, and also nitro- 
genous matter resembling albumen. Its active 
principle, theobromine,^ has some of the properties of 
caffeine and theine. 

The Cooking of Food breaks the little cells, and 
softens the fibers of which it is composed. In broil- 
ing or roasting meat, it should be exposed to a strong 
heat at once, in order to coagulate the albumen 
upon the outside, and thus prevent the escape of the 
nutritious juices. The cooking may then be finished 
at a lower temperature. The same principle applies 
to boiling meat. In making soups, on the contrary, 
the heat should be applied slowly, and should reach 
the boiling point for only a few moments at the close. 
This prevents the coagulation of the albumen. 
Frying is an unhealthful mode of cooking food, 
as thereby the fat becomes partially disorganized. 

Rapid Eating produces many evil results. 1. 
There is not enough saliva mixed with the food ; 2. 
The coarse pieces resist the action of the digestive 
fluids ; 3. The food is washed down with drinks that 
dilute the gastric juice, and hinder its work ; 4. We 
do not appreciate the quantity we eat until the 
stomach is overloaded ; 5. Failing to get the taste of 
our food, we think it insipid, and hence use condi- 

* Tea and coffee should be made with boiling water, but should not be boiled 
afterward. During the '• steeping" process, so customary in this country, the vola- 
tile aroma is lost and a bitter principle extracted. In both England and China it is 
usual to infuse tea directly in the urn from which it is to be drawn. The tannin in 
tea IS shown when a drop falls on a knife-blade. The black spot is a tannate of 
iron— a compound of the acid in the tea and the metal. 

+ It is said that Linnrens the great botanist, was so fond of chocolate that he 
named the cocoa-tree " Theobroma," the food of the gods. 



THE QUANTITY AND QUALITY OF FOOD. 159 

ments that over-stimulate the digestive organs. In 
these various ways the appetite is depraved, the 
stomach vexed, the system overworked, and the 
foundation of dyspepsia laid.* 

The Quantity and Quality of Food required vary 
with the age and habits of each individual. The 
diet of a childf should be largely vegetable, and 
more abundant than that of an aged person. A 
sedentary occupation necessitates less food than an 
out-door life. One accustomed to manual labor, on 
entering school, should practice self-denial until his 
system becomes fitted to the new order of things. 
He should not, however, fall into the opposite error. 
We read of great men who have lived on bread and 
water, and the conscientious student sometimes 
thinks that, to be great, he, too, must starve him- 
self.]; On the contrary, many of the greatest 
workers are the greatest eaters. A powerful engine 
needs a corresponding furnace. Only, we should be 
careful not to use more fuel than is needed to run 
the machine. 

The season should modify our diet. In winter, we 
need highly carbonaceous food, plenty of meat, fat, 
etc. ; but in summer we should temper the heat in 
our corporeal stoves with fruits and vegetables. 

The climate also has its necessities. The inhabi- 



* When one is compelled to eat in a hurry, as at a railway station, he would do 
well to confine himself principally to meat ; and to dilute this concentrated food 
with fruit, crackers, etc., taken afterward more leisurely. 

t In youth, repair exceeds waste, and hence the body grows rapidly, and the form 
is plump. In middle life, repair and waste equal each other, and growth ceases. 
In old age, waste exceeds repair, and hence the powers are enfeebled and the skin 
lies in wrinkles on the shrunken form, 

X As Dr. Holland well remarks, the dispensation of saw-dust has passed away. 
If we desire a horse to win the race, we must give him plenty of oats. 



160 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

tants of the frigid north have an almost insatiable 
longing for fat.* Thus, in 1812, when the Allies 
entered Paris, the Cossacks drank all the oil from 
the lamps, and left the streets in darkness. In trop- 
ical regions, a low, unstimulating diet of fruits 
forms the chief dependence, f 

When Food should be Taken.— On taking food, 
the blood sets at once to the alimentary canal, and 
the energies are fixed upon the proper performance 
of this work. We should not, therefore, undertake 
hard study, labor, or exercise directly after a hearty 
meal. We should give the stomach at least half an 
hour. He who toils with brain or muscle, and thus 
centers the blood in any particular organ, before eat- 
ing, should allow time for the circulation to become 
equalized. There should be an interval of four to 
five hours between our regular meals, and there 
should be no lunching between times. With young 
children, where the vital processes are more rapid, 
less time may intervene. Nothing should be eaten 
within two or three hours of retiring. 

* Dr. Hayes, tlie arctic explorer, says, that tlie daily ration of the Esquimaux 
was from twelve to fifteen pounds of meat, one-third being fat. On one occasion, 
he saw a man eat ten pounds of wakus flesh and blubber at a single meal. The low 
temperature had a remarkable effect on the members of his own party, and some 
of them were in the habit of drinking ihe contents of the oil-kettle with evident 
relish. Other travelers narrate the most incredible stories of the voracity of the 
inhabitants of arctic regions. Saritcheff, a Russian admiral, tells of a man who in 
his presence ate, at a meal, a mess of twenty-eight pounds of boiled rice and butter, 
although he had already partaken of his breakfast. Capt. Cochrane further adds, 
in narrating this statement, that he has himself seen three of the savages consume a 
reindeer at a sitting. 

+ A natural appetite for a particular kind of food is an expression not only of 
desire but of fitness. Thus the craving of childhood for sugar indicates a need of 
the system. It is questionable how far it is proper to force or persuade one to eat 
that which he disrelishes, or his stomach loathes. Life within is linked with life 
without. Each organ requires its peculiar nutriment, and there is often a peculiar 
influence demanded of which we can have no notice except by natural instinct. 
Yet, as we are creatures of habit and impulse, we need common sense and good 
judgment to correct the too often wayward promptings of an artificial craving. 



THE WONDERS OF DIGESTION. 161 

How Food should be Taken. — A good laugh is 
the best of sauces. The meal-time should be the 
happiest hour of the day. Care and grief are the 
bitter foes of digestion. A cheerful face and a light 
heart are friends to long life, and nowhere do they 
serve us better than at the table. God designed 
that we should enjoy eating, and that, having 
stopped before satiety was reached, we should have 
the satisfaction always attendant on a good work 
well done. 

Need of a Variety. — Careful investigations have 
shown that any one kind of food, however nutri- 
tious in itself, fails after a time to preserve the 
highest working power of the body. Our appetite 
palls when we confine our diet to a regular routine. 
Nature demands variety, and she has furnished the 
means of gratifying it. * 

The Wonders of Digestion. — We can understand 
much of the process of digestion. We can look 
into the stomach and trace its various steps. In- 
deed, the chemist can reproduce in his laboratory 
many of the operations ; '"a step further," as Fonte- 
nelle has said, '^and he would surprise nature in the 
very act." Just here, when he seems so successful, 

* "She opens her hand, and pours forth to man the treasures of every land and 
every sea, because she would give to him a wide and vigorous life, participant of all 
variety. For him the cornfields wave their golden grain— wheat, rye, oats, maize, or 
rice, each different, hut alike sufficing. Freely for him the palm, the date, the 
banana, the bread-fruit tree, the pine, spread out a harvest on the air ; and pleasant 
apple, plum, or peach solicit his ready hand. Beneath his foot lie stored the starch 
of the potato, the gluten of the turnip, the sugar of the beet ; while all the inter- 
mediate space is rich with juicy herbs. 

"Nature bids him eat and be merry ; adding to his feast the solid flesh of bird, 
and beast, and fish, prepared as victims for the sacrifice: firm muscle to make 
strong the arm of toil, in the industrious temperate zone ; and massive ribs of 
fat to kindle inward fires for the sad dwellers under Arctic skies."— ^m^^-^ and its 
Con ditions. —Hinton. 



162 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

he is compelled to pause. At the threshold of life 
the wisest physiologist reverently admires, wonders, 
and worships. 

How strange is this transformation of food to 
flesh ! We make a meal of meat, vegetables, and 
drink. Ground by the teeth, mixed by the stomach, 
dissolved by the digestive fluids, it is swept through 
the body. Each organ, as it passes, snatches its 
particular food. Within the cells of the tissues * it 
is transformed into the soft, sensitive brain, or the 
hard, callous bone ; into briny tears, or bland saliva, 
or acrid perspiration ; bile for digestion, oil for the 
hair, nails for the fingers, and flesh for the cheek. 

Within us is an Almighty Architect, who super- 
intends a thousand builders, which make in a way 
past all human comprehension, here a fiber of a 
muscle, there a filament of a nerve ; here construct- 
ing a bone, there uniting a tendon, — fashioning each 
with scrupulous care and unerring nicety, f So, 
without sound of builder or stroke of hammer, 
goes up, day by day, the body — the glorious temple 
of the soul. 

Diseases, etc. — 1. Dyspepsia, or indigestion of 
food, is generally caused by an over-taxing of the 
digestive organs. Too much food is used, and the 



* As the body is composed of individual organs, and each organ of separate 
tissues, so each tissue is made up of minute cells. Each cell is a little world by 
itself, too small to be seen by the naked eye, but open to the microscope. It has 
its own form and constitution as much as a special organ in the body. It 
absorbs from the blood such food as suits its purposes. Moreover the number of 
cells in an organ is as constant as the number of organs. As the organs expand with 
the growth of the body, so the cells of each tissue enlarge, but shrink again with age 
and the decline of life. Life begins and ends in a cell.— See Appletoii's Cyclopedia^ 
Art. "Absorption." 

t See Cooke's Religion and Chemistry, page 236. 



ALCOHOL. 163 

entire system is burdened by the excess. Meals are 
taken at irregular hours, when the fluids are not 
ready. A hearty supper is eaten when the body, 
wearied with the day's labor, demands rest. The 
appetite craves no food when the digestion is en- 
feebled, but stimulants and condiments excite it, 
and the unwilling organs are oppressed by that 
which they cannot properly manage. 

Strong tea, alcoholic drinks, and tobacco derange 
the alimentary function. 

Too great variety of dishes, rich food, tempting 
flavors, — all lead to an overloading of the stomach. 
This patient, long-suffering member at last wears 
out. Pain, discomfort, diseases of the digestive 
organs, and insufficient nutrition are the penalties 
of violated laws. 

2. The Mumps are a swelling of the parotid— one 
of the salivary glands (Fig. 46). The disease is gen- 
erally epidemic, and the patient should be carefully 
secluded for the sake of others as well as himself. 
The swelling may be allowed to take its course. 
Relief from pain is often experienced by applying 
flannels wrung out of hot water. Great care should 
be used not to check the inflammation, and, on first 
going out after recovery, not to take cold. 



ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND NARCOTICS. 

1. ALCOHOL (Continued from p. 134). 

Relation of Alcohol to the Digestive Organs. — 

Is Alcohol a Food 9 To answer this question, let us 



164 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

make a comparison. If you receive into your stom- 
ach a piece of bread or beef, Nature welcomes its 
presence. The juices of the system at once take 
hold of it, dissolve it, and transform it for the uses 
of the body. A million tiny fingers (lacteals and 
villi) reach out to grasp it, work it over, and carry it 
into the circulation. The blood bears it onward 
wherever it is needed to mend or to build ^' The 
house you live in." Soon, it is no longer bread 
or beef ; it is flesh on your arm ; its chemical 
energy is imparted to you, and it becomes your 
strength. 

If, on the other hand, you take into your stomach 
a little alcohol, it receives no such welcome. Nature 
treats it as a poison, and seeks to rid herself of the 
intruder as soon as possible.* The juices of the sys- 
tem will flow from every pore to dilute and weaken 
it, and to prevent its shriveling up the delicate 
membranes with which it comes in contact. The 
veins will take it up and bear it rapidly through 
the system. Every organ of elimination, all the 
scavengers of the body — the lungs, the kidneys, 
the perspiration-glands, at once set to work to 

* Food is digested, alcohol is not. Food warms the blood, directly or indirectly; 
alcohol lowers the temperature. Food nourishes the bod}^ iu the sense of assimi- 
lating itself to the tissues ; alcohol does not. Food makes blood ; alcohol never 
does anything more innocent than mixing with it. Food feeds the blood -cells; 
alcohol destroys them. Food excites, in health, to normal action only ; alcohol 
tends to inflammation and disease. Food gives force to the body ; alcohol excites 
reaction and wastes force, in the first place, and in the second, as a true narcotic, 
represses vital action and corresponding nutrition.— If alcohol does not act like 
food, neither does it behave like water. Water is the subtle but innocent vehicle 
of circulation, which dissolves the solid food, holds in play the chemical and vital 
reactions of the tissues, conveys the nutritive solutions from cell to cell, fi'om tube 
to tube, and carries oflf and expels the effete matter. Water neither irritates tissue, 
wastes force, nor suppresses vital action : whereas alcohol does all three. Alcohol 
.hardens solid tissue, thickens the blood, narcotizes the nerves, and in every con- 
ceivable direction antagonizes the operation and function of water.— Zees'* Text-book. 



ALCOHOL. 165 

throw off the enemy. So surely is this the case, 
that the breath of a person who has drunk only a 
single glass of the lightest beer will betray the fact. 
The alcohol thus eliminated is entirely un- 
changed.* Nature apparently makes no effort to 
appropriate it. It courses • every where through the 
circulation, and into the great organs, with all its 
properties unmodified. ''Dr. A. B. Hall of Boston 
states that he once bled a man who was dead drunk. 
The blood was caught in a bowl, and, on applying a 
lighted match, the liquid blazed up at once. Ex- 
periment shows that to do this it must have con- 
tained 20 per cent, of alcohol." 

/ Alcohol, then, is not, like bread or beef, taken 
hold of, broken up by the mysterious process of diges- 
tion, and used by the body. '' It cannot therefore be 
regarded as an aliment," or food. — {Flint.) "Beer, 
wine, and spirits," says Leibig, " contain no element 
capable of entering into the composition of the blood 
or the muscular fiber." ''That alcohol is incapable 
of forming any part of the body," remarks Cameron, 

* Because of the difficulties of sucli an experiment, we have not yet been able to 
account satisfactorily by the excretions for all the alcohol taken into the stomach. 
This remains as yet one of the unsolved problems of physiological chemistry. To 
collect the whole of the insensible perspiration, for example, is well nigh impossible. 
It was supposed at one time that a part of the alcohol is oxidized— i e., burned, in 
the system. But such a process would impart heat, and it is now proved that alcohol 
cools, Instead of warms, the blood. Moreover, the closest analysis fails to detect in 
the circulation any trace of the products of alcoholic combustion, such as aldehyde 
and acetic acid. " The fact," says Flint, " that alcohol is always eliminated, even 
when drank in minute quantity, and that its elimination contin^^es for a considerable 
time, gradually diminishing, renders it probable that all that is taken into the body 
is removed." 

The small amount of nutritive substance, chiefly sngar derived from the grain or 
fruit used in the manufacture of beer or wine, can not, of course, be compared with 
that contained in bread or beef at the same cost. Leibig says, in his Letters on 
Chemistry, "We can prove, with mathematical certainty, that as much flour as can 
lie on the point of a table-knife is more nutritious than eight quarts of the best Ba- 
varian beer." 



166 



DIGESTION AND FOOD. 



'^ is admitted by all physiologists. It cannot be con- 
verted into brain, nerve, muscle, or blood." 

Effect upon the Digestion.— Experiments tend to 
prove that alcohol coagulates and precipitates the 
pepsin from the gastric juice, and so puts a stop to 
its great work in the process of digestion. * 

The greed of alcohol for water causes it to imbibe 
moisture from the tissues and juices, and to inflame 
the delicate mucous membrane. It shows the power 
of nature to adapt herself to circumstances, that the 
soft, velvety lining of the throat and stomach should 
come at length to endure the presence of a fiery 
liquid which, undiluted, would soon shrivel and 
destroy it. In self-defence, the juices pour in to 
weaken the alcohol, and it is soon hurried into the 
circulation. Before this can be done, "it must 
absorb about three times its bulk of water ; " hence, 
very strong liquor may be retained in the stomach 
long enough to interfere seriously with the diges- 



* The experiments of Dr. Henry Munroe, of Hull, published in the London 
Medical Journal, are here summarized as showing that the tendencaL-ro retard 
digestion is common to all forms of alcoholic driuks. 



\ 



Fiiiel^Minced ^^ ^our. 


4th Hour. 


6th Hour. 8th Hour. 


10th Hour. 


I. 1 "Rppf 

Gastric juice 1 oSe. 

axidi water. \ ^v<^'^^^- 


Digesting and 
separating. 


Beef much Broken up 
lessened. into shreds. 


Dissolved 
like soup. 


n^^t- -i';,,;-,^ No alteration 

1 


Slightly 
opaque, but 

beef 
unchanged. 


Slight coating 
on beef. 


No visible 
change. 


Solid on 
cooling. 
Pepsin 
precipi- 
tated. 


Sfl'Iriff c.fnge. 


Cloudy. 

with ftir on 

beef. 


Beef partly 
loosened. 


No further 
change. 


No diges- 
tion. Pep- 
sin pre- 
cipitated. 



ALCOHOL. 167 

tion, and to injure the lining coat. Habitual use of 
alcohol permanently dilates the blood-vessels ; thick- 
ens and hardens the membranes ; in some cases, 
ulcerates the surface ; and, finally, "so weakens the 
assimilation that the proper supply of food cannot 
be appropriated/' — {Flint.)'^ 

Effect upon the Liver. — Alcohol is carried by the 
portal vein directly to the liver. This organ, after 
the brain, holds the largest share. The influence 
of the poison is here easily traced. '' The color 
of the bile is soon changed from yellow to green, 
and even black ; " the connective tissue between 
the lobules becomes inflamed ; and, in the case of a 
confirmed drunkard, hardened and shrunk, the sur- 
face often assuming a nodulated appearance known 
as the ^* hob-nailed liver." Morbid matter is some- 
times deposited, causing what is called "Fatty de- 
generation," so that the liver is increased to twice 
or thrice its natural size. 

Effect upon the Kidneys. — The kidneys, like the 
liver, are liable in time to undergo, through the influ- 
ence of alcohol, a " Fatty degeneration," in which 
the cells become filled with particles of fat ; \ the 
vessels lose their contractility ; and, worst of all, 
the membranes may be so modified as to allow the 



* The case of St. Martin (p. 155) gave an excellent opportunity to watch the 
action of alcohol upon the stomach. Dr. Beaumont summarized his experiments 
thus : " The free, ordinary use of any intoxicating liquor, when continued for some 
days, invariably produced inflammation, ulcerous patches, and, finally, a discharge 
of morbid matter tinged with blood." Yet St. Martin never complained of pain in 
his stomach, the narcotic influence of the alcohol preventing the signal of danger 
that Nature ordinarily gives. 

t "Disabled by the fatty deposits, the kidneys are unable to separate the waste 
matter coming to them for elimination from the system. The poisonous material is 
poured back into the circulation, and often delirium Qn&u.Q&y— Hubbard. 



168 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

albuminous part of the blood to filter through them, 
and so rob the body of one of its most valuable con- 
stituents. * 

Does Alcohol Impart Heat? — During the first flush 
after drinking wine, for example, a sense of warmth 
is felt. This is due to the tides of warm blood that 
are being sent to the surface of the body, owing to 
the "Vascular enlargement" and the rapid pump- 
ing of the heart. There is, however, no fresh heat 
developed. On the contrary, the bringing the blood 
to the surface causes it to cool faster, reaction sets 
in, a chilliness is experienced as one becomes sober, 
and a delicate thermometer placed under the tongue 
of the inebriate may show a fall of even two degrees 
below the standard temperature of the body. Sev- 
eral hours are required to restore the usual heat. 

As early as 1850, Dr. N. S. Davis, of Chicago, ex-President of the 
American Medical Association, instituted an extensive series of experi- 
ments to determine the eflfect of the different articles of food and drinks 
on the temperature of the system. He conclusively proved that, during 
the digestion of all kinds of food, the temperature of the body is 
increased, bat when alcohol is taken, either in the form of fermented 
or distilled beverages, the temperature begins to fall within a half- 
hour, and continues to decrease for two or three hours, and that the 
reduction of temperature, in extent as well as in duration, is in exact 
proportion to the amount of alcohol taken. 

It naturally follows that, contrary to the accepted 
opinion, liquor does not fortify against cold. The 
experience of travelers at the North coincides with 
that of Dr. Hayes, the Arctic explorer, who says : 



* This deterioration of structure frequently gives rise to what is known as 
"Bright's Disease.'''— Hichardson. 



ALCOHOL. 169 

" While fat is absolutely essential to the inhabitants 
and travelers in arctic countries, alcohol is, in 
almost any shape, not only completely useless, but 
positively injurious. I have known strong, able- 
bodied men to become utterly incapable of resisting 
cold in consequence of the long-continued use of 
alcoholic drink." 

Does Alcohol Impart Strength? — Experience shows 
that alcohol weakens the power of undergoing severe 
bodily exertion. * Men who are in training for run- 
ning, rowing, and other contests where great strength 
is required, deny themselves all liquors, even when 
they are ordinarily accustomed to their use. 

Dr. Richardson made some interesting experiments to show the 
Influence of alcohol upon muscular contraction. He carefully weighted 
the hind leg of a frog, and, by means of electricity, stimula- 
ting the muscle to its utmost power of contraction, he found out 
how much the frog could lift. Then administering alcohol, he dis- 
covered that the response of the muscle to the electrical current became 
feebler and feebler, as the narcotic began to take effect, until, at last, 
the animal could raise less than half the amount it lifted by the nat- 
ural contraction when uninfluenced by alcohol. 

Effect upon the "Waste of the Body.— The ten- 
dency of alcohol is to cause a formation of an un- 
stable substance resembling fat,t and so the use of 

* Dr. McRae, in speaking of Arctic exploration, at the meeting of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science, held at Montreal in 185(5, said ; " The 
moment that a man had swallowed a drink of spirits, it was certain that his day's 
work was nearly at an end. It was absolutely necessary that the rule of total 
abstinence be rigidly enforced, if we would accomplish our day's task. The use of 
liquor as a beverage when we had work on hand, in that terrific cold, was out of the 
question.'' 

t " The molecular deposits equalizing the waste of the system do not go on regu • 
larly under the influence of alcohol ; the tissues are not kept up to their standard ; 
and, in time, their composition is changed by a deposit of an amorphous matter 
resembling fat. This is an unstable substance, and tlie functions of animal life all 
retTOffcader—Htibbard on The Opium Habit and AlcoJwlism. 



170 DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

liquor for even a short time will increase the 
weight. But a more marked influence is to check 
the ordinary waste of the system, so that "the 
amount of carbonic acid exhaled from the lungs 
may be reduced as much as 30 to 50 per cent. — {Hin- 
ton.) The life-process is one of incessant change. 
Its rapidity is essential to vigor and strength. 
When the functions are in full play, each organ is 
being constantly torn down, and as constantly re- 
built with the materials furnished from our food. 
Anything that checks this oxidation of the tissues, 
or hinders the deposition of new matter, disturbs 
the vital functions. Both these results are the 
inevitable effects of alcohol ; for, since the blood 
contains less oxygen and more carbonic acid, and 
the power of assimilating the food is decreased, it 
follows that every process of waste and repair must 
be correspondingly weakened. The person using 
liquor consequently needs less bread and beef, and 
so alcohol seems to him a food — a radical error, as 
we have shown. 

Alcohol Creates a Progressive Appetite for itself. 
— When liquor is taken, even in the most moderate 
quantity, it soon becomes necessary, and then 
arises a craving demand for an increased amount to 
produce the original effect. No food creates this 
constantly-augmenting want. A cup of milk drank 
at dinner does not lead one to go on, day by day, 
drinking more and more milk, until to get milk 
becomes the one great longing of the whole being. 
Yet this is the almost universal effect of alcohol. 
Hunger is satisfied by any nutritious food : the 
dram-drinker's thirst demands alcohol. The com- 



ALCOHOL. 171 

men experience of mankind teaches us the immi- 
nent peril that attends the formation of this pro- 
gressive poison-habit. A single glass taken as a 
tonic may lead to the drunkard's grave. 

Worse than this, the alcoholic craving may be 
transmitted from father to son, and young persons 
often find themselves cursed with a terrible disease 
known as alcoholism — a keen, morbid appetite for 
liquor that demands gratification at any cost — 
stamped upon their very being through the reckless 
indulgence of this habit on the part of some one 
of their ancestors.* 

The Law of Heredity is, in this connection, well 
worth consideration. ''The world is beginning to 
perceive," says Francis Galton, ''that the life of 
each individual is, in some real sense, a continuation 
of the lives of his ancestors." " Each of us is the 
footing up of a double column of figures that goes 
back to the first pair." ''We are omnibuses," remarks 
Holmes, " in which all our ancestors ride." We in- 
herit from our parents our features, our physical 
vigor, our mental faculties, and even much of our 
moral character. Often, when one generation is 
skipped, the qualities will reappear in the following 
one. The virtues, as well as the vices, of our fore- 
fathers, have added to, or subtracted from, the 
strength of our brain and muscle. The evil tenden- 
cies of our natures, which it is the struggle of our 

* The American Medical Association, at tlieir meeting in St. Paul, Minnesota 
(1883), restated in a series of resolutions tlieir conviction, that "Alcohol should be 
classed with other powerful drugs ; that when prescribed medicallj^ it should be 
done with conscientious caution and a sense of great responsibility. That used as a 
beverage it is productive of a large amount of physical and mental disease ; that it 
entails diseased and enfeebled constitutions uj)on offspring, and is the cause of a large 
percentage of the crime and pauperism of our large cities and country." 



172 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

lives to resist, constitute a part of our heir-looms 
from the past. Our descendants, in turn, will have 
reason to bless us only if we hand down to them a 
pure healthy physical, mental, and moral being. 

" There is a marked tendency in nature to transmit 
all diseased conditions. Thus, the children of con- 
sumptive parents are apt to be consumptives. But 
of all agents, alcohol is the most potent in establish- 
ing a heredity that exhibits itself in the destruction 
of mind and body.* Its malign influence was ob- 
served by the ancients long before the production of 
whisky or brandy, or other distilled liquors, and 
when fermented liquors or wines only were known. 
Aristotle says, ' Drunken women have children like 
unto themselves,' and Plutarch remarks, 'One 
drunkard is the father of another.' The drunkard 
by inheritance is a more helpless slave than his pro- 
genitor, and his children are more helpless still, un- 
less on the mother's side there is an untainted blood. 
For there is not only a propensity transmitted, but 
an actual disease of the nervous system." — Dr. Wil- 
lard Parker. \ 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS, 

1. How do clothing and shelter economize food ? 

2. Is it well to take a long walk before breakfast ? 

* " Nearly ail the diseases springing from indulgence in distilled and fermented 
liquors are liable to become hereditary, and to descend to at least three or four 
generations, unless starved out by uncompromising abstinence. But the distressing 
aspect of the heredity of alcohol is the transmitted drink-crave. This is no dream of 
an enthusiast, but the result of a natural law. Men and women upon whom this 
dread inheritance has been forced are everywhere around us. bravely struggling to 
lead a sober life."— Z*?-. Xorman Kerr. 

t-The subject of alcohol is continued in the chapter on the Nervous System. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 173 

3. Why is warm food easier to digest tlian cold ? 

4. Why is salt beef less nutritious than fresh? ^ 

5. What should be the f ooa of a man recovering from a fever ? 

6. Is a cup of black cotfee a healthful close to a hearty dinner ? 

7. Should ice-water be used at a meal ? 

8. Why is strong tea or coffee injurious ? 

9. Should food or drink be taken hot V 

10. Are fruit-cakes, rich pastry, and puddings wholesome? 

11. Why are warm biscuit and bread hard of digestion? 

12. Should any stimulants be used in youth ? 

13. Why should bread be made spongy? 

14. Which should remain longer in the mouth, bread or meat ? 

15. Why should cold water be used in making soup, and hot water 
in boiling meat ? 

16. Name the injurious effects of over- eating. 

17. Wliy do not buckwheat cakes, with syrup and butter, taste as 
well in July as in January? 

18. Why is a late supper injurious ? 

19. What makes a man '■ bilious " ? 

20. What is the best remedy? Ans. Diet to give the organs rest, 
and active exercise to arouse the secretions and the circulation. 

21. What is the practical use of hunger ? 

22. How can jugglers drink when standing on their heads ? 
28. Why do we relish butter on bread ? 

24. What would you do if you had taken arsenic by mistake ? See 
Appendix. 

25. Why should ham and sausage be thoroughly cooked ? 

26. Why do we wish butter on fish, eggs with tapioca, oil on salad, 
and milk with rice ? 

27. Explain the relation of food to exercise. 

* The French Academicians found that flesh soaked in water so as to deprive it 
of its mineral matter and juices, lost its nutritive value, and that animals fed on it 
soon died. Indeed, for all purposes of nutrition, Liebig said it was no better than 
stones, and the utmost torments of hunger were hardly sufficient to induce them to 
continue the diet. There was plenty of nutritive food, but there was no medium for 
its solution and absorption, and hence it was useless. 



174 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

28. How do you explain the difference in the manner of eating be- 
tween carnivorous and herbivorous animals ? 

29. Why is a child's face plump and an old man's wrinkled ? 

30. Show how life depends on repair and waste. 

31. What is the difference between the decay of the teeth and the 
constant decay of the body ? 

32. Should biscuit and cake containing yellow spots of soda be 
eaten ? 

33. Tell how the body is composed of organs, organs are made up 
of tissues, and tissues consist of cells, 

34. Why do we not need to drink three pints of water per day ? 

35. Wliy, during a pestilence, are those who use liquors as a bev- 
erage the first, and often the only victims ? 

36. What two secretions seem to have the same general use ? 

37. How may the digestive organs be strengthened ? 

38. Is the old rule, " after dinner sit awhile," a good one? 

39. What would you do if you had taken laudanum by mistake ? 
Paris Green ? Sugar of lead ? Oxalic acid ? Phosphorus from matches ? 
Ammonia ? Corrosive sublimate ? See Appendix. 

40. What is the simplest way to produce vomiting, so essential in 
case of accidental poisoning ? 



VII. 

NERVOUS SYSTEM 



" Mark then the cloven sphere that holds 
All thoughts in its mysterious folds. 
That feels sensation s faintest thrill, 
And flashes forth the sovereign will ; 
Think on the stormy zvorld that dwells 
Lock'd in its dim and clustering cells ; 
The lightning gleams of pozver it sheds 
Along its hollow, glassy threads I " 



'' As a king sits high above his subjects upon his throne, and from it 
speaks behests that all obey, so from the throne of the brain-cells is all the 
kingdom of a man directed, controlled, and infltienced. For this occupant, 
the eyes watch, the ears hear, the tongue tastes, the nostrils smell, the skin 
feels. For it, language is exhausted of its treasjires, and life of its expe- 
rience ; locomotion is accomplished, and quiet ensured. When it zvills, 
body and spirit are goaded like over-driven horses. When it allows, rest 
and sleep may come for recuperation. In short, the slightest penetration 
may not fail to perceive that all other parts obey this part, and are but 
ministers to its necessities." — Odd Hours of a Physician. 



BL^^CKBOARI) AIN^AX^^^SIS. 



1. The Stbucture. 



1. The Brain 



2. The Spinal Cord. 



2. Organs of the Ner- 
vous System. 



1. Description. 

2. The Cerebrum. 

3. The Cerebellam. 

1. Its Composition. 

2. Medulla Oblongata. 



Htgiene 



f 1. Description. 
2. Motory and Sensory. 
I 3. Transfer of Pain. 
I 4. The Spinal Nerves— 
I 31 Pairs. 

3. The Nerves ^5. The Cranial Nerves— 

12 Pairs. 
I 6. Sympathetic System. 
I 7. Crossing of Cords. 
I 8. Reflex Action. 
L 9. Uses of Reflex Action , 

i. Brain Exercise. 

2. Connection between Brain-growth and Body- 
growth. 
] 3. Sleep. 

4. Efi"ect of Sleeping-draughts. 
t 5. Sunlight. 



4. Wonders of the Brain. 



Alcoholic Drinks, 
AND Narcotics. 



ri.Efi"ectof Alco- 
] hoi upon the 
Nervous Sys- 
tem. 



1. Stage of Excitement. 

2. Stage of Muscular 
Weakness. 

3. Stage of Mental Weak- 
ness. 

4. Stage of Unconscious- 
I l_ ness. 

2. Effect upon the Brain, 
I 3. Effect upon the Mental and the Moral 
l^ Powers. 

1. Constituents of Tobacco. 

2. Physiological Effects. 

3. Possible Disturbances produced by smok- 

ing. 

4. Influence upon the Nervous System. 
I 5. Is Tobacco a Food ? 

L6. Influence of Tobacco upon Youth. 

Onium i 1- Description 



4. Chloral Hydrate. 

5. Chloroform. 



2. Physiological Effects. 



i 



THE NERVOUS SYSTEM." 



STRUCTURE.— The nervous system includes the 
hrain, the spinal cord, and the nerves. It is 
composed of two kinds of matter — the white, and the 
gray. The former consists of minute, milk-white, 
glistening fibers, sometimes as small as ^r^ioir of an 
inch in diameter ; the latter is made up of small, 
ashen-colored cells, forming a pulp-like substance of 
the consistency of blanc-mange. f This is often 
gathered in little masses, termed ganglions {gang- 
lion, a knot), because, when a nerve passes through 
a group of the cells, they give it the appearance of a 
knot. The nerve-fibers are conductors, while the 
gray cells are generators, of nervous force. J The 

* The organs of circulation, respiration, and digestion, of which we have already 
spoken, are often called the vegetative functions, because they belong also to the 
vegetable kingdom. Plants have a circulation of sap through their cells correspond- 
ing to that of the blood through the capillaries. They breathe the air through their 
leaves, which act the part of lungs, and they take in food which they change into 
their own structure by a process which answers to that of digestion. The plant, 
however, is a mere collection of parts incapable of any combined action. On the 
other hand, the animal has a nervous system which binds all the organs together. 

t In addition to the cells, the gray substance contains also nerve-fibers continuous 
with the white-fibers, but generally much smaller. These form half the bulk of the 
gray substance of the spinal cord, and a large part of the deeper layer of the gray 
matter in the \)vzxQ.—Leidy''s Anatomy, p. 507. 

X What this force is we do not know. In some respects it is like electricity, but. 
in others, differs materially. Its velocity is about thirty-three metres per second. 
{Physics, p. 182.) 



178 



THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

Fig. 50. 




The Nervous System. A, cerebrum; B, cerebellum. 



THE CEREBRUM. 179 

ganglia, or nervous centers, answer to the stations 
along a telegraphic line, where messages are received 
and transmitted, and the fibers correspond to the 
wires that communicate between different parts. 

The Brain is the seat of the mind. ^ Its average 
weight is about fifty ounces, f It is egg-shaped, and, 
soft and yielding, fills closely the cavity of the skull. 
It reposes securely on a water-bed, being surrounded 
by a double membrane {arachnoid), delicate as a 
spider's web, which forms a closed sac filled, like the 
spaces in the brain itself, with a liquid resembling 
water. Within this, and closely investing the brain, 
is a fine tissue {pia matei^), with a mesh of blood- 
vessels which dips down into the hollows, and bathes 
them so copiously that it uses one-fifth of the entire 
circulation of the body. Around the whole is wrapped 
a tough membrane {dura mater), which lines the bony 
box of the skull, and separates the various parts of 
the organ by strong partitions. The brain consists 
of two parts — the cerebrum, and the cerebellum. 

The Cerebrum fills the front and upper part of the 
skull, and comprises about seven-eighths of the en- 
tire weight of the brain. As animals rise in the 
scale of life, this higher part makes its appearance. 



* " In proportion to the rest of the nervous matter in the body it is larger in man 
than in any of the lower animals. It is the function which the brain performs that 
distinguishes man from all other animals, and it is by the action of his brain that he 
becomes a conscious, intelligent, and responsible being. The brain is the seat of 
that knowledge which we express when we say I. I know it, I feel it, I saw it, are 
expressions of our individual consciousness, the seat of which is the brain. It is 
when the brain is at rest in sleep that there is least consciousness. The brain may 
be put under the influence of poisons, such as alcohol and chloroform, and then the 
body is without consciousness. From these and other facts the brain is regarded as 
the seat of consciousness.''''— Lanlcester. 

t Cuvier's brain weighed 63 ozs.; Webster's, 58| ozs.; James Fisk's, 58 ozs. ; 
Kuloffs, 59 ozs.; an idiot's, 19 ozs. See Table in FlinVs Nervous System. 



180 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

Fig. 51. 




t. 




Surface of the Cerebrum. 

It is a mass of white fibers, with cells of gray matter 
sprinkled on the outside, or lodged here and there in 
ganglia. It is so curiously wrinkled and folded as 
strikingly to resemble the meat of an English wal- 
nut. This structure gives a large surface for the 
gray matter, — sometimes as much as 670 square 
inches. The convolutions are not noticeable in an 
infant, but increase with the growth of the mind, 
their depth and intricacy being characteristic of high 
mental power. 

The cerebrum is divided into two hemispheres, 
connected beneath by fibers of white matter. Thus 
we have two brains,* as well as two hands and two 

* This douhleness has given rise to some curious speculations. In the case of 
the hand, eye, etc., we know that the sensation is made more sure. Thus we can see 



THE CEREBRUM. 



181 



eyes. This provides us with a surplus of brains, as 
it were, which can be drawn upon in an emergency. 
A large part of one hemisphere has been destroyed 



Fig. 




Pigeon from which the Cerebrum tias been removed. 

without particularly injuring the mental powers,* — 
just as a person has been blind in one eye for a long 
time without having discovered his loss. The cere- 



with one eye, but not so weJl as with both. It is perhaps the game with the brain. 
We may sometimes carry on a train of thought, " build an air-caslle " with one-half 
of our brain, while the other half looks on and watches the operation ; or, may read 
and at the same time think of something else. So in delirium, a patient often 
imagines himself two persons, thus showing a want of harmony betw^een the two 
hdiiwQ^.— Draper's Human Physiology, page 329. 

* 'A pointed iron bar, three-and-a-half feet long and one inch and a quarter in 
diameter, was driven by the premature blasting of a rock completely through the 
side of the head of a man who was present. It entered below the temple, and made 
its exit at the top of the forehead, just about the middle line. The man was at first 
stunned, and lay in a delirious, semi-stupefied state for about three weeks. At the 
end of sixteen months, however, he was in perfect health, with the wounds healed 
and with the mental and bodily functions unimpaired, excej^t that the sight was lost 
in the eye of the injured side."— (Z>«i'ton.) It is noticeable, however, that the man 
became changed in disposition, fickle, impatient of restraint, and profane, which he 
was not before. He died epileptic, probably from ])rogressivc disease of the brain, 
nearly thirteen years after the injury. The tamping-iron and the skull are pre- 
served in the Warren Anatomical Museum, Boston. 



182 



THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 



brum is the center of intelligence and thought. 
Pigeons from which it is removed are plunged in 
profound stupor, and are inattentive to surrounding 
objects ; they occasionally open their eyes with a 
vacant stare, and then relapse into their former 
apathy. 

The Cerebellum lies below the cerebrum, and in 
the back part of the head (Fig. 50). It is about the 
size of a small fist. Its structure is similar to that 



Fig. 53. 




Pigeon from which the Cerebellum has been removed. 

of the brain proper, but instead of convolutions it 
has parallel ridges, which, letting the gray matter 
down deeply into the white matter within, give it a 
peculiar appearance, called the arhor-vitce, or tree 
of life (Fig. 55). This part of the brain is^the center 
for the control of the voluntary muscles. Persons 
in whom it is injured or diseased walk as if intoxi- 
cated, and cannot perform any orderly work. 



TRANSFER OF PAIN. 183 

Pigeons from which it is removed are excited, ner- 
vous, and try to escape with uncertain, sprawling 
movements. 

The SpinalCord occupies the cavity of the back- 
bone. It is protected by the same membranes as the 
brain, but, unlike it, the white matter is on the out- 
side, and the gray matter is within. Deep fissures 
separate it into halves (Fig. 50), which are, however, 
joined by a bridge of the same substance. Just as it 
starts from the brain, there is an expansion called 
the medulla oblongata (Fig. 55). 

The Nerves are glistening, silvery threads, com- 
posed, like the spinal cord, of white matter without 
and gray within. They ramify to all parts of the 
body. Often they are very near each other, yet are 
perfectly distinct, each conveying its own impres- 
sion.* Those which carry the orders of the mind to 
the different organs are called the 7notory nerves ; 
while those which bring back impressions which 
they receive are styled sensory nerves. If the sen- 
sory nerve leading to any part be cut, all sensation 
in that spot will be lost, while motion will remain ; 
if the motory nerve be cut, all motion will be de- 
stroyed, while sensation will exist as before. 

Transfer of Pain. — Strictly speaking, pain is not in 
any organ, but in the mind, since only that can feel. 
When any nerve brings news to the brain of an in- 
jury, the mind refers the pain to the end of the 
nerve. A familiar illustration is seen in the ''funny 



* Press two fingers together, and, closing the eyes, let some one pass the point of 
a pin lightly from one to the other; you will be able to tell which is touched, yet if 
the nerves came in contact with each other anywhere in their long route to the 
brain, you could not thus distinguish. 



184 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

bone" behind the elbow. Here the nerve {ulnar) 
gives sensation to the third and fourth fingers, in 
which, if this bone be struck, the pain will seem to 
be. Long after a limb has been amputated, pain 
will be felt in it, as if it still formed a part of the 
body — any injury in the stump being referred to the 
point to which the nerve formerly led. * 

The nerves are divided into three general classes — 
the spinal, the cranial, and the sympathetic. 




A, posterior root of a spinal nerve ; E, ganglion; B, anterior root ; D, spinal nerve. 
The white portions of the figure represent the white fibers : and the dark, the gray. 

The Spinal Nerves, of which there are thirty-one 
pairs, issue from the spinal cord through apertures 
provided for them in the backbone. Each nerve 
arises by two roots ; the anterior is the motory, and 
the posterior the sensory one. The posterior alone 
connects directly with the gray matter of the cord, 

* Only about five per cent, of those who suffer amputation lose the feeling of the 
part taken away. There is somethino: tragical, almost ghastly, in the idea of a spirit 
limb haunting a man through his life, and betraying him in unguarded moments into 
some effort, the failure of Avhich suddenly reminds him of his loss. A gallant fellow, 
who had left an arm at Shiloh, once, when riding, attempted to use his lost hand to 
grasp the reins while with the other he struck his horse. A terrible fall was the re- 
sult of his mistake. When the current of a batteiy is applied to the nerves of an 
arm-stump, the irritation is carried to the brain, and referred to all the regions of the 
lost limb. On one occasion a man's shoulder was thus electrized three inches above 
the point where the Ihnb was cut off. For two years he had ceased to be conscious 
of his limb. As the current passed through, the man, ignorant of its possible effects, 
started up, crying, " Oh, the hand ! the hand ! " and tried to seize it with the living 
grasp of the sound fingers. No resurrection of the dead could have been more start- 
\mg.—Dr. Mitchell on "■ Phantom Limbs'" in LippincotVs Magazine. 



THE CRANIAL NERVES. 



185 



and has a small ganglion of gray matter of its own 
at a little distance from its origin. These roots soon 
unite, i. e., are bound up in one sheath, though they 
preserve their special functions. When the posterior 
root of a nerve is cut, the animal loses the power of 
feeling, and when the anterior root is cut, that of 
motion. 

The Cranial Nerves, twelve pairs in number, 
spring from the lower part of the brain and the 
medulla oblongata. 



Fig. 55. 




The Brain and the origin of the twelve pairs of Cranial Nerves. F, E, the cere- 
brum; D, the cerebellum, showing the arbor-vitce ; G, the eye; H, the medulla ob- 
longata; A, the spinal cord ; C and B, the first two pairs of spinal nerves. 



1. The olfactory, or first pair of nerves, ramify throiigli the nostrils, 
and are the nerves of smell. 

2. The optic, or second pair of nerves, pass to the eyeballs, and are 
the nerves of vision. 



186 



THE NEEVOUS SYSTEM. 



3, 4, 6. The motores ocuU (eye-movers) are tliree pairs of nerves used 
to move the eyes, 

5. The tri-fadal, or fifth pair of nerves, divide each into three 
branches — hence the name : the first to the upper part of the face, 
eyes, and nose; the second to the upper jaw and teeth ; the third 
to the lower jaw and the mouth, where it forms the nerve of 
taste. These nerves are implicated when we have the toothache or 
neuralgia, 

7. The facial, or seventh pair of nerves, are distributed over the 
face, and give to it expression.* 

Fig. 56. 




Spinal Nerves, Sympathetic Cord, and the Net- work of Sympathetic Nej-^es around 
the Internal Organs. K, aorta ; A, oesophagus : B. diaphragm ; C, domach. 



* " If it is palsied, on one side there will be a blank, while the other side will 
laugh or cry, and the whole face will look funny indeed. There were some cruel 
people in the middle ages who used to cut the nerve and deform chDdren's faces in 
this way, for the purpose of making money of them at shows. When this nerve was 
wrongly supposed to be the seat of neuralgia, or tic-douloui-eux, it was often cut by 
surgeons. The patient suffered many dangers, and no relief of pain was gained." — 
Mapother. 



I 



THE CRANIAL NERVES. 187 

8. The auditory, or eighth pair of nerves, go to the ears, and are the 
nerves of hearing. 

9. The glos-so^'pha-ryn' -ge-al, or ninth pair of nerves, are distributed 
over the mucous membrane of the pharynx, tonsils, etc. 

10. The pneu-w.o-gas' -trie, or tenth pair of nerves, preside over the 
larynx, lungs, liver, stomach, and one branch extends to the heart. 
This is the only nerve which goes so far from tlie head. 

11. The accessory, or eleventh pair of nerves, rise from the spinal 
cord, run up to the medulla oblongata, and thence leave the skull at 
the same opening with the ninth and tenth pairs. They regulate the 
vocal movements of the larynx. 

12. The Jiy-po-glos'-sal, or twelfth pair of nerves, give motion to the 
tongue. 

The Sympathetic System contains the nerves of 
organic life. It consists of a double chain of gan- 
glia on either side of the backbone, extending into 
the chest and abdomen. From these, delicate 
nerves, generally soft and of a grayish color, run to 
the organs on which life depends — the heart, lungs, 
stomach, etc. — to the blood-vessels, and to the spinal 
and cranial nerves over the body. Thus the entire 
system is bound together with cords of sympathy, so 
that, '* if one member suffers, all the members suffer 
with it." 

Here lies the secret of the control exercised by the 
brain over all the vital operations. Every organ 
responds to its changing moods, especially those of 
respiration, circulation, digestion, and secretion, — 
processes intimately linked with this system, and 
controlled by it. 

Crossing of Cords.— Each half of the body is pre- 
sided over, not by its own half of the brain, but that 
of the opposite side. The motory nerves, as they 
descend from the brain, in the medulla oblongata, 



ISB THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

cross each other to the opposite side of the spinal 
cord. So the motor-nerves of the right side of the 
body are connected with the left side of the brain, 
and vice versa. Thus a derangement in one half of 
the brain may paralyze the opposite half of the body. 
The nerves going to the face do not thus cross, and 
therefore the face may be motionless on one side, 
and the limbs on the other. Each of the sensory 
fibers of the spinal nerves crosses over to the 
opposite side of the spinal cord, and so ascends to 
the brain : an injury to the spinal cord may, there- 
fore, cause a loss of motion in one leg and of feeling 
in the other. 

Reflex Action. — Since the gray matter generates 
the nervous force, a ganglion is capable of receiving 
an impression, and of sending back or reflecting it 
so as to excite the muscles to action. This is done 
without the consciousness of the mind.* Thus we 
wink involuntarily at a flash of light or a threatened 
blow.f We start at a sudden sound. We jump back 

* Instances of an unconscious working of the mind are abundant. Abercrombie, 
in his Intellectual Powers, gives the follo\\ ing : 

"A lawyer had been excessively perplexed about a very complicated question. 
An opinion was required from him, but the question was one of such difficulty that 
he felt very uncertain how he should render it. The decision had to be given at a 
certain time, and he awoke in the morning of that day with a feeling of great dis- 
tress. He said to his wife, ' I had a dream, and the whole thing was clearly 
arranged before my mind, and I would give anything to recovei- the train of 
thought.' His mfe said to him, ' Go and look on your table.' She had seen him get 
up in the night and go to his table and sit down and write. He did so. and found 
there the opinion which he had been most earnestly endeavoring to recover, lying In 
his own handwriting. There was no doubt about it whatever." 

In this case the action of the brain was clearly automatic, i. e.. reflex. The lawyer 
had worried his brain by his anxiety, and thus prevented his mind from doing its 
best. But it had received an impulse in a certain direction, and when left to itself, 
worked out the result. (See Appendix for other illustrations.) 

t " A very eminent chemist a few years ago was making an experiment upon 
some extremely explosive compound which he had discovered. He had a small 
quantity of this compound in a bottle, and was holding it up to the light, looking at 
it intently ; and whether it was a shake of the bottle or the warmth of his hand, I do 



USES OF REFLEX ACTION. 189 

from a precipice before the mind has time to reason 
upon the danger. The spinal cord conducts certain 
impressions to the brain, but responds to others 
without troubling that organ.* The medulla ob- 
longata carries on the process of respiration. The 
great sympathetic system binds together all the 
organs of the body. 

Uses of Reflex Action. — We breathe eighteen 
times every minute ; we stand erect without a con- 
sciousness of effort ;f we walk, eat, digest, and at 
the same time carry on a train of thought. Our 
brain is thus emancipated from the petty detail of 
life. If we were obliged to attend to every breath, 
every pulsation of the heart, every wink of the eye, 
our time would be wasted in keeping alive. Mere 
standing would require our entire attention. 

not know, but it exploded in his hand, and the bottle was shivered into a million of 
minute fragments, which were driven in every direction. His first impression was, 
that they had penetrated his eyes, but to his intense relief he found presently that 
they had only struck the outside of his eyelids. You may conceive how infinitesi- 
mally short the interval was between the explosion of the bottles and the particles 
reaching his eyes ; and yet in that interval the impression had been made upon his 
sight, the mandate of the reflex action, so to speak, had gone forth, the muscles of 
his eyehds had been called into action, and he had closed his eyelids before the par- 
ticles had reached them, and in this manner his eyes were saved. You see what a 
wonderful proof this is of the way in which the automatic action of our nervous 
apparatus enters into the sustenance of our lives, and the protection of our most 
important organs from injury."— Z)/'. Carpenter. 

* There is a story told of a man, who, having injured his spinal cord, had lost 
feeling and motion in his lower extremities. Dr. John Hunter experimented upon 
him. Tickling his feet, he asked him if he felt it ; the man, pointing to his limbs 
which were kicking vigorously about, answered, '' No, but you see my legs do." 
Illustrations of this independent action of the spinal coi-d are common in animals 
A headless wasp will ply its sting energetically. A fowl, after its head is cut off, 
will flap its wings and jump about as if in pain, although, of course, all sensation 
has ceased. "A water beetle, having had its head removed, remained motionless as 
long as it rested on a dry surface, but when cast into water, it executed the usual 
swimming motions with great energy and rapidity, striking all its comrades to one 
side by its violence, and persisting in these fop^more than half an hour." 

\ In this way we account for the perilous feats performed by the somnambulist. 
He is not conscious, as his operations are not directed by the cerebrum, but by the 
other nervous centers. 



190 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

Besides, an act which at first demands all our 
thought soon requires less, and at last becomes 
mechanical,* as we say, i. e., reflex. Thus we play 
a familiar tune upon an instrument and carry on a 
conversation at the same time. All the possibilities 
of an education and the power of forming habits are 
based upon this principle. jSTo act we perform ends 
with itself. It leaves behind it in the nervous cen- 
ters a tendency to do the same thing again. Our 
physical being thus conspires to fix upon us the 
habits of a good or an evil life. Our very thoughts 
are written in our muscles, so that the expression of 
our face and even our features grow into harmony 
with the life we live. 

Brain Exercise. — The nervous system demands its 
life and activity. The mind grows by what it feeds 
on. One who reads mainly light literature, who 
lolls on the sofa or worries through the platitudes of 
an idle or fashionable life, decays mentally ; his 
system loses tone, and physical weakness follows 
mental poverty. On the other hand, an excessive 
use of the mind withdraws force from the body, 
whose weakness, reacting on the brain, produces 
gradual decay and serious diseases. 

The brain grows by the growth of the body. The 
body grows through good food, fresh air, and work 



* ' As every one knows,'" says Haxley, " it takes a soldier a long time to learn 
his drill— for instance, to put himself into the attitude of 'attention' at the instant 
the word of command is heard. Bur after a time, the sound of the word gives rise 
to the act. whether the soldier be thinking of it or not. There is a story, which is 
credible enough, though it may not be true, of a practical joker, who, seeing a dis- 
charged veteran carrying home his dinner, suddenly called out ' Attention!' where- 
upon the man instantly brought his hands down, and lost his mutton and potatoes 
in the gutter. The drill had been thorough, and its effects had become embodied in 
the man's nervous structure."' 



4 



SUNLIGHT. 191 

and rest in suitable proportion. For the full devel- 
opment and perfect use of a strong mind, a strong 
body is essential. Hence, in seeking to expand and 
store the intellect, we should be equally thoughtful 
of the growth and health of the body. 

Sleep* is as essential as food. During the day, 
the process of tearing down goes on ; during the 
night, the work of building up should make good 
the loss. In youth more sleep is needed than in old 
age, when nature makes few permanent repairs, and 
is content with temporary expedients. The number 
of hours required for sleep must be decided by each 
person. Napoleon took only five hours, but most 
people need from six to eight hours, — brain-workers 
even more. In general, one should sleep until he 
naturally wakes. If one's rest be broken, it should 
be made up as soon as possible. 

Sunlight. — The influence of the sun's rays upon the 
nervous system is very marked, f It is said also to 



* Sleep procured by medicine is rarely as beneficial as that secured naturally. 
The disturbance to the nervous system is often sufficient to counterbalance all the 
good results. The habit of seeking sleep in this way, without the advice of a phy- 
sician, is to be most earnestly deprecated. The dose must be constantly increased 
to produce the efi"ect, and thus great injury may be caused. Often, too, where 
laudanum or morphine is used, the person unconsciously comes into a terrible and 
fatal bondage. (See p. 303.) Especially should infants never be dosed with cordials, 
as is a common family practice. The damage done to helpless childhood by the 
ignorant and reckless use of soothing syrups is frightful to contemplate. All the 
ordinary sleeping-draughts have life-destroying properties, as is proved by the fatal 
effects of an overdose. At the best, they paralyze the nerve centei's, disorder the 
digestion, and poison the blood. Their promiscuous use is therefore fall of danger. 

t " The necessity of light for young children is not half-appreciated. Many of 
their diseases, and nearly all the cadaverous looks of those brought up in great 
cities, are ascribable to the deficiency of light and air. When we see the glass-room 
of the photographers in every street, in the topmost story, we grudge them their 
application to what is often a mere personal vanity. Why should not a nursery be 
constructed in the same manner? K parents knew the value of light to the skin, 
especially to children of a scrofulous tendency, we should have plenty of these glass- 
house nurseries, where children might run about in a proper temperature, free from 
much of that clothing which at present seals up the skin— that great supplementary 



192 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

have the effect of developing red disks in the blood. 
All vigor and activity come from the sun. Vege- 
tables grown in subdued light have a bleached and 
faded look. An infant kept in absolute darkness 
would grow into a shapeless idiot. That room is the 
healthiest to which the sun has the freest access. 
Epidemics frequently attack the inhabitants of the 
shady side of a street, and totally exempt those on 
the sunny side. If, on a slight indisposition, we 
should go out into the open air and bright sunlight, 
instead of shutting ourselves up in a close, dark 
chamber, we might avoid many a serious illness. 
The sun-bath is doubtless a most efficient remedy 
for many diseases. Our window blinds and curtains 
should be thrown back and open, and we should let 
the blessed air and sun stream in to invigorate and 
cheer. No house buried in shade, and no room with 
darkened windows, is fit for human habitation. In 
damp and darkness, lies in wait almost every dis- 
ease to which flesh is heir. The sun is their only 
successful foe. 

Wonders of the Brain. — After having seen the 
beautiful contrivances and the exquisite delicacy of 
the lower organs, it is natural to suppose that when 
we come to the brain we should find the most elabo- 
rate machinery. How surprising, then, it is to have 
revealed to us only cells and fibers ! The brain is 
the least solid' and most unsubstantial looking organ 
in the body. Eighty per cent, of water, seven of 
albumen, some fat, and a few minor substances 



lung— against sunlight and oxygen. They would save many a weakly child who 
now perishes from lack of these necessaries of infant life."— 2>r. Winter. 



ALCOHOL. 193 

constitute the instrument which rules the world. 
Strangest of all, the brain, which is the seat of 
sensation, is itself without sensation. Every nerve, 
every part of the spinal cord, is keenly alive to the 
slightest touch, yet ''the brain may be cut, burned, 
or electrified without producing pain." 



ALCOHOLIC DRINKS AND NARCOTICS. 

ALCOHOL (Continued from p. 173). 

Effect upon the Nervous System. — In the progres- 
sive influence of alcohol upon the nervous system, 
there are, according to the researches of Dr. Rich- 
ardson, four successive stages. 

1. The Stage of Excitement.*— The first effect of alcohol, as 
we have already described on page 130, is to paralyze the nerves that 
lead to the extreme and minute blood-vessels, and so regulate the 
passage of the blood through the capillary system. The vital force, 
thus drawn into the nervous centers, drives the machinery of life 
with tremendous energy. The heart jumps like the main-spring 
of a watch when the resistance of the wheels is removed. The 
blood surges through the body with increased force. Every capil- 
lary tube in the system is swollen and flushed, like the reddened nose 
and cheek. 

* "The pupil should be careful to note here that alcohol does not act upon the 
heart directly, and cause it to contract with more force. The idea that alcohol 
f^ves energy and activity to the muscles is entirely false. It really, as we have seen 
(p. 169), weakens muscular contraction. The enfeeblement begins in the first stage 
and continues in the other stages with increased efi"ect. The heart boats quickly 
merely because the resistance of the minute controlling vessels is taken off, and it 
works without being under proper regulation. What is called a stimvlation or 
excitement is, in absolute fact, a relaxation, a partial paralysis of one of the most 
important mechanisms in the animal body. Alcohol should be ranked among the 
wdk^'coWc^^y— Richardson. 



194 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

In all this tbere is exhilaration, but no nourishment ; there is anima- 
tion, but no permanent power conferred on brain or muscle. Alcohol 
may cheer for the moment. It may set the sluggish blood in motion, 
start the flow of thought, and excite a temporary gayety. " It may en- 
able a wearied or feeble organism to do brisk work for a short time. It 
may make the brain briefly brilliant. It may excite muscle to quick 
action, but it does nothing at its own cost, fills up nothing it has de- 
stroyed, and itself leads to destruction/' Even the mental activity it 
has excited is an unsafe state of mind, for that just poise of the fac- 
ulties so essential to good judgment is disturbed by the presence of the 
intruder. Johnson well remarked, " Wine improves conversation by 
taking the edge off" the understanding. " 

2. The Stage of Muscular Weakness.— If the action of the 
alcohol be still continued, the spinal cord is next affected by this 
powerful narcotic. The control of some of the muscles is lost. Those 
of the lower lip usually fail first, then those of the lower limbs, and the 
staggering, uncertain steps betray the result. The muscles them- 
selves, also, become feebler as the power of contraction diminishes. 
The temperature, which, for a time, was slightly increased, soon begins 
to fall as the heat is radiated ; the body is cooled, and the well-known 
" alcoholic chill " is felt. 

3. The Stage of Mental Weakness. — The cerebrum is now 
implicated. The ideal and emotional faculties are quickened, while the 
will is weakened. The center of thought being overpowered, the mind 
is a chaos. Ideas flock in thick and fast. The tongue is loosened. The 
judgment loses its hold on the acts. The reason giving way, the animal 
instincts generally assume the mastery of the man. The hidden nature 
comes to the surface. All the gloss of education and social restraint 
falls off, and the lower nature stands revealed. The coward shows 
himself more craven, the braggart more boastful, the bold more daring, 
and the cruel more brutal. The inebriate is liable to become the victim 
of any outrage that the slightest provocation may suggest. 

4. The Stage of Unconsciousness. — At last, prostration 
ensues, and the wild, mad revel of the drunkard ends with utter sense- 
lessness. In common speech, the man is "dead drunk." Brain and 
spinal cord are both benumbed. Fortunately, the two nervous centers 
which supply the heart and the diaphragm are the slowest to be 
influenced. So, even in this final stage, the breathing and the circula- 



ALCOHOL. 195 

tion still go on, though the other organs have stopped. Were it not 
for this, every person thoroughly intoxicated would die.* 

Effect upon the Brain. — Alcohol seems to have a 
special aflSnity for the brain. This organ absorbs 
more than any other, and its delicate structure is 
correspondingly affected. The ''Vascular enlarge- 
ment" here reaches its height. The tiny vessels 
become clogged with blood that is unfitted to nour- 
ish, because loaded with carbonic acid, and deprived 
of the usual quantity of the life-giving oxygen. — 
{Hinton.) The brain is, in the language of the 
physiologist, malfunctioned. The mind but slowly 
rallies from the stupor of the fourth stage, and a 
sense of dullness and depression remains to show 
with what difficulty the fatigued organ recovers its 
normal condition. So marked is the effect of the 
narcotic poison that some authorities hold that "a 
once thoroughly-intoxicated brain never fully be- 
comes what it was before." 

In time, ther free use of liquor hardens and thickens 
the membrane enveloping the nervous matter ; the 
nerve-corpuscles undergo a "Fatty degeneration"; 
the blood-vessels lose their elasticity ; and the vital 
fluid, flowing less freely through the obstructed 
channels, fails to afford the old-time nourishment. 

* Cold has a wonderful influence in hastening this stage, so that a person, pre- 
viously only in the first stage of excitement, on going outdoors on a winter night, 
may rjfpidly sink into a lethargy (become comatose), fall, and die. He is then com- 
monly said to have perished with cold. The signs of this coma are of great prac- 
tical importance, since so many persons die in police stations and elsewhere who are 
really comatose, when they are supposed to be only sound asleep. The pulse is slow, 
and almost imperceptible. The face is pale, and the skin cold. " If the arm be 
pinched it is not moved; if the eyeballs are touched, the lids will not sink." The 
respiration becomes slower and slower, and, if the person dies, it is because liquid 
collects in the bronchial tubes, and stops the passage of the air. The man then 
actually drowns in his own secretions, 



196 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

The. consequent deterioration of the nervous sub- 
stance — the organ of thought — shows itself in the 
weakened mind * that we so often notice in a person 
accustomed to drink, and at last lays the foundation 
of various nervous disorders — epilepsy, paralysis, 
and insanity, t the law of heredity asserts itself 
here again, and the inebriate's children often inherit 
the disease which he has escaped. 

Chief among the consequences of this "perverted, 
and imperfect nutrition of the brain " is that inter- 
mediate state between intoxication and insanity, 
well known as Delirium Tremens. '^ It is charac- 
terized by a low, restless activity of the cerebrum, 
manifesting itself in muttering delirium, with occa- 
sional paroxysms of greater violence. The victim 
almost always apprehends some direful calamity ; 
he imagines his bed to be covered with loathsome 
reptiles ; he sees the walls of his apartment crowded 
with foul specters ; and he imagines his friends and 
attendants to be fiends come to drag him down to a 
fiery abyss beneath.'' — Carpenter. 

Influence upon the Mental and Moral Powers. — 
So intimate is the relation between the body and the 
mind that an injury to one harms the other. The 
effect of alcoholized blood is to weaken the will. 
The one habitually under its influence often shocks 
us by his indecision and breaking his promise to 
reform. The truth is, he has lost, in a measure, his 
power of self-control. At last, he becomes physically 

. * " The habitual use of fermented liquors, even to an extent far short of what is 
necessary to produce intoxication, injures the body, and diminishes the mental 
power."— ;S'e?' Hem^ Thompwn. 

t Casper, the great statistician of Berlin, says : "So far as that city is concerned, 
one-third of the insane coming from the poorer classes, were made so by spirit- 
drinking." 



ALCOHOL. 197 

unable to resist the craving demand of his morbid 
appetite. 

Other faculties share in this mental wreck. The 
intellectual vision becomes less penetrating, the deci- 
sions of the mind less reliable, and the grasp of 
thought less vigorous. The logic grows muddy. A 
thriftless, reckless feeling is developed. Ere long, 
self-respect is lost, and then ambition ceases to 
allure, and the high spirit sinks. 

Along with this mental deterioration comes also a 
failure of the moral sense. The fine fiber of char- 
acter undergoes a '^degeneration'' as certain as that 
of the muscles themselves. Broken promises tell of 
a lowered standard of veracity, and a dulled sense of 
honor, quite as much as of an impaired will. Under 
the subtle infiuence of the ever-present poison, signs 
of spiritual weakness multiply fast. Conscience is 
lulled to rest. Reason is enfeebled. Customary 
restraints are easily thrown off. The sensibilities 
are blunted. There is less ability to appreciate nice 
shades of right and wrong. Great moral principles 
and motives lose their power to influence. The 
judgment fools with duty. The future no longer 
reaches back its hand to guide the present. The 
better nature has lost its supremacy. 

The wretched victim of appetite will now gratify 
his tyrannical passion for drink at any expense of 
deceit or crime. He becomes the blind instrument 
of his insane impulses, and commits acts from which 
he would once have shrunk with horror. * Sometimes 

* Richardson sums up the various diseases caused by alcohol, as follows : " (a). 
Diseases of the brain and nervous system, indicated by such names as apoplexy, 
epilepsy, paralysis, vGrti<?o, softening of the brain, delirium tremens, dipsomania or 
inordinate craving for drink, loss of memory, and that general failure of the mental 



198 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

he even takes a malignant pleasure in injuring those 
whom Nature has ordained he should protect.* 

II. TOBACCO. 

The Constituents of Tobacco Smoke are numer- 
ous, but the prominent ones are carbonic acid, car- 
bonic oxide, and ammonia gases ; carbon, or soot ; and 
nicotine. The proportion of these substances varies 
with different kinds of tobacco, the pipe used, and the 
rapidity of the combustion. Carbonic acid tends to 
produce sleepiness and headache. Carbonic oxide, 
in addition, causes a tremulous movement of the 
muscles, and so of the heart. Ammonia bites the 
tongue of the smoker, excites the salivary glands, 
and causes dryness of the mouth and throat. Nico- 
tine is a powerful poison. The amount contained in 
one or two strong cigars, if thrown directly into the 

power, called dementia. (5). Diseases of the lungs : one form of consumption, con- 
gestion, and subsequent bronchitis, (c). Diseases of the heart : irregular beat, 
feebleness of the muscular Avails, dilatation, disease of the valves, {d). Diseases of 
the blood : scurvy, excess of water or dropsy, separation of fibrin, (e). Diseases of 
the stomach : feebleness of the stomach, indigestion, flatulency, irritation, and 
sometimes inflammation. (/). Diseases of the bowels : relaxation or purging, irri- 
tation, (g). Diseases of the liver: congestion, hardening and shrinking, cirrhosis. 
(h). Diseases of the kidneys : change of structtire into fatty or waxy-like condition 
and other results leading to dropsy, or sometimes to fatal sleep, (i). Diseases of the 
muscles : fatty change in the muscles, by which they lose their power for proper 
active contraction, (j). Diseases of the membranes of the body: thickening and 
loss of elasticity, by which the parts wrapped up in the membrane are impaired for 
use, and premature decay is induced." 

* It has been argued that a man should not be punished for any crime he may com- 
mit during intoxication, but rather for knowingly giving up the reins of reason and 
conscience, and thus subjecting himself to the rule of his evil passions. Voluntarily 
to stimulate the mind and put it into a condition where it may drive one to ruin, is 
very like the act of an engineer who should get up steam in his engine, and then, 
having opened the valves, desert his post, and let the monster go thundering down 
the track to sure destruction. Certain persons are thrown into the stage of mental 
weakness by a single glass of liquor. How can they be excused when the fact of 
their peculiar liability lends additional force to the argument of abstemiousness, and 
they know that their oiiTy safety lies in total abstinence ?—Ca7'penter's Physiology. 



TOBACCO. 199 

blood, would cause death. Mcotine itself is com- 
plex, yielding a volatile substance that gives the 
odor to the breath and clothing ; and also a bitter 
extract which produces the sickening taste of an 
old pipe. In smoking, some of the nicotine is 
decomposed, forming pyridine, picoline, and other 
poisonous alkaloids.* 

Physiological Effects. — The poison of tobacco, set 
free by the process either of chewing or smoking, 
when for the first time it is swept through the 
system by the blood, powerfully affects the body. 
Nausea is felt, and the stomach seeks to throw off 
the offending substance. The brain is inflamed, 
and headache follows. The motor-nerves becoming 
irritated, giddiness ensues. Thus ISTature earnestly 
protests against the formation of this habit. But, 
after repeated trials, the system adjusts itself to 
the new conditions. A ^* tolerance" of the poison 
is finally established, and smoking causes none of 
the former symptoms. Such powerful substances 
cannot, however, be constantly inhaled without 
producing marked changes. The three great elim- 
inating organs— the lungs, the skin, and the kid- 
neys—throw off a large part of the products, but 
much remains in the system. When the presence 
of the poison is constant, and especially when the 
smoking or chewing is excessive, the disturbance 
that at first is merely functional, must neces- 

* The analysis of tobacco as given by different antliorities varies greatly. The 
one stated in the text suffices for the purposes of this chapter. Vo^u Euleuberg 
names several other products of the combustion. One hundred pounds of the dry 
leaf may yield as high as seven pounds of nicotine. Havana tobacco contains about 
two per cent, and Virginia about six per cent. See Johnston & Church's Chemistry 
of Common Life, and Miller's Organic Chemisti-y. 



200 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

sarily, in many cases at least, lead to a chronic 
derangement. 

Probably in this, as in the case of other deleterious 
articles of diet, the strong and healthy will seem to 
escape entirely, while the weak and those predis- 
posed to disease will be injured in direct proportion 
to the extent of the indulgence. Those whose em- 
ployment leads to active, outdoor work, will show 
no sign of nicotine poisoning, while the man of sed- 
entary habits will sooner or later be the victim of 
dyspepsia, sleeplessness, nervousness, paralysis, or 
other organic difficulties. Even where the user of 
tobacco himself escapes harm, the law of heredity 
asserts itself, and the innocent offspring only too 
often inherit an impaired constitution, and a ten- 
dency to nervous complaints. 

The Various Disturbances produced in different individuals 
and constitutions by smoking have been summed up by Dr. Richard- 
son as follows : " {a) In the blood, it causes undue fluidity, and change 
in the red corpuscles ; (&) in the stomach, it gives rise to debility, 
nausea, and vomiting ; (c) in the mucous membrane of the mouth, it 
produces enlargement and soreness of the tonsils — smoker's sore throat 
— redness, dryness, and occasional peeling of the membrane, and either 
unnatural firmness and contraction, or sponginess of the gums ; and, 
where the pipe rests on the lips, oftentimes ' epithelial cancer'; (cZ) in 
the heart, it causes debility of the organ, and irregular action ; (e) in 
the bronchial surface of the lungs, when that is already irritable, it 
sustains irritation, and increases the cough ; (/) in the organs of sense, 
it produces dilation of the pupils of the eye, confusion of vision, bright 
lines, luminous or cobweb specks, and long retention of images on the 
retina, with analogous symptoms affecting the ear, viz., inability to 
define sounds clearly, and the occurrence of a sharp, ringing noise like 
a whistle ; ig) in the brain, it impairs the activity of the organ, oppress- 
ing it if it be nourished, but soothing it if it be exhausted ; {h) it 



TOBACCO. 201 

leads to paralysis in the motor and sympathetic nerves, and to over- 
secretion from the glands which the sympathetic nerves control." 

Is Tobacco a Food ? — Here, as in the case of alco- 
hol, the reply is a negative one. Tobacco manifests 
no characteristic of a food. It cannot impart to the 
blood an atom of nutritive matter for building up 
the body. It does not add to, but rather subtracts 
from, the total vital force. It confers no potential 
power upon muscle or brain. It stimulates by cut- 
ting off the nervous supply from the extremities and 
concentrating it upon the centers. But stimulation 
is not nourishment ; it is only a rapid spending of 
the capital stock. There is no greater error than to 
mistake the exciting of an organ for its strengthening. 
The Influence upon Youth. — Here, too, science 
utters no doubtful voice. Experience asserts only 
one conviction. Tobacco retards the development of 
mind and hody."^ The law of nature is that of steady 
growth. It cannot admit of a daily, even though it 
be merely a functional, disturbance that weakens 
the digestion, that causes the heart to labor exces- 
sively, that prevents the perfect oxidation of the 
blood, that interferes with the assimilation, and that 
deranges the nervous system. \ No one has a right 



* Cigarettes are especially injurious from the irritating smoke of the paper 
covering, taken into the lungs, and also because the poison-fumes of the tobacco 
are more directly inhaled. In case of the cheap cigarettes often smoked by boys, the 
ingredients used are harmful, while one revolts at the thought of the filthy mate- 
rials, refuse cigar-stumps, &c., employed in their manufacture. 

t There is one influence of tobacco that every young man should understand. In 
many cases, like alcohol, it seems to blunt the sensibilities, and make its user care- 
less of the rights and feelings of others. This is often noticed in common life. We 
meet occasionally " devotees of the weed," who, ignoring the i^ict that tobacco is 
disagreeable to many persons, think only of the gratification of their selfish appetite. 
They smoke or chew in any place or company. They permit the cigar fumes to blow 



202 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

thus to check and disturb continually the regular 
processes of his physical and mental progress. 
Hence, the young man (especially if he be of a 
nervous, sensitive organization) who uses tobacco 
deliberately diminishes the possible energy with 
which he might commence the work of life ; * while 
he comes under the bondage of a habit that may 
become stronger than his will, and under the influ- 
ence of a narcotic that may beguile his faculties 
and palsy his strength at the very moment when 
every power should be awake. 

Another peril still lies in the wake of this raaster- 
ful poison-habit. Tobacco causes thirst and depres- 
sion that only too often and naturally lead to the use 
of liquor. 

III. OPIUM. 

Opium is the dried juice of the poppy. In Eastern 
countries, this flower is cultivated in immense fields 

into the faces of passers-by. They sit where the wind carries the smoke of their pipes 
so that others must inhale it. They expectorate upon the floor of cars, hotels, and 
even private homes. They take no pains to remo\'e the odor that lingers about their 
person and clothing. They force all who happen to be near, their companions, their 
fellow-travelers, to inhale the nauseating odor of tobacco. Everything must be 
sacrificed to the one primal necessity of such persons — a smoke. Now, a young man 
just beginning life, with his fortune to make, and his success to achieve, can illy 
afi"ord to burden himself with a habit that is costly, that will make his presence 
offensive to many persons, and that may perhaps render him less sensitive to the 
best influences, and perceptions of manhood. 

* In the Polytechnic School at Paris, the pupils were divided into two classes— the 
smokers, and the non-smokers. The latter not only excelled on the entrance exami- 
nations, but during the entire course of study. Dr. Decaisne examined thirty-eight 
boys who smoked, and found twenty-seven of them diseased from nicotine poison- 
ing. So long ago as 1868, in consequence of these results, the Minister of Public 
Instruction forbade the use of tobacco by the pupils. 

Dr. Gihon, medical director of the Naval Academy at Annapolis, in his report for 
1881, says : " The most important matter in the health-history of the students is that 
relating to tobacco, and its interdiction is absolutely essential to their future health 
and usefulness. In this view I have been sustained by my colleagues, and all sani- 
tarians in civil and military life whose views I have been able to obtain.'" 



OPIUM. • 203 

for the sake of this product. When a cut is made in 
the poppy-head, a tiny tear of milky juice exudes, 
and hardens. These little drops are gathered and 
prepared for the market, an acre yielding, it is 
said, about twenty-five pounds. Throughout the 
East, opium is generally smoked ; but in Western 
countries laudanum and paregoric (tinctures of 
opium, or morphine — a powerful alkaloid contained 
in opium), are generally used. The drug itself is 
also eaten. 

Physiological Effect. — Opium, in its various forms, 
acts directly upon the nerves, a small dose quieting 
pain, and a larger one soothing to sleep. It arouses 
the brain, and fires the imagination to a wonderful 
pitch.* The reaction from this unnatural excitant 
is correspondingly depressing ; and the melancholy, 
the '^overwhelming horror" that ensues, calls for a 
renewal of the stimulus. The dose must be gradu- 
ally increased to produce the original exhilaration, f 
The seductive nature of the drug leads the unfortu- 
nate victim on step by step until he finds himself 
fast bound in the fetters of the most tyrannical 
habit known to man. 



* De Quiucy took laudanum for the first time to relieve pain, but such was the 
intensity of the feelings he then experienced that, as he tells us in his " Confessions 
of an Opium-eater," " The relief from pain seemed a trifle. Here was a panacea for 
all human woes. Here was the secret of happiness about which philosophers had 
disputed for so many ages. Happiness might now be bought for a penny, and car- 
ried in the waistcoat pocket : portable ecstasies might be had corked up in a pint 
bottle." 

t " The victim of opium is bound to a drug from which he derives no benefits, but 
which slowly deprives him of health and happiness, finally to end in idiocy or prema- 
ture death. Whatever the victim's condition or surroundings may be, the opium 
must be taken at certain times with inexorable regularity. The liquor or tobacco 
user can, for a time, go without the use of these agents, and no regular hours are 
necessary. During sickness, and more especially during the eruptive fevers, he does 
not desire tobacco or liquor. The opium-eater has no such reprieves ; his dose must 



^04 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

To go on is to wreck all one's powers — physical 
and mental. To throw off the habit, requires a 
determination that but few possess. Yet even when 
the custom is broken, the system is long in recov- 
ering from the shock. There seems to be a failure 
of every organ. The digestion is weakened, food 
is no longer relished, the muscles waste, the skin 
shrivels, the nervous centers are paralyzed, and a 
premature old age comes on apace. De Quincy, four 
months after he had cast away the opium-bonds, 
wrote, ''Think of me as one still agitated, writhing, 
throbbing, palpitating, shattered." 

No person can be too careful in the use of lau- 
danum, paregoric, and morphine. They may be 
taken on a physician's prescription as a sedative 
from racking pain,* but if followed up for any 
length of time, the powerful habit may be formed 
ere one is aware. Then comes the opium-eater's 
grave, or the opium-eater's struggle for life ! 



IV. CHLORAL HYDRATE. 

Chloral Hydrate is a drug frequently used to 
cause sleep. It leaves behind no headache or lassi- 
tude, as is often the case with morphine. It is, how- 



be taken, and, in painful complications affecting the stomach, a large increase is 
demanded to sustain the system. If. in forming the habit, two doses are taken each 
day, the victim is obliged to maintain that number. It is the unceasing, everlasting 
slavery of regularity that humiliates opium-eaters by a sense of their own weakness. . 
—Hubbard on The Opivm Habit and Alcoholism. 

* Many persons learn to inject laudanum beneath the skin by means of a " hypo- 
dermic syringe." The operation is painless, and seems innocent enough. It 
throws the narcotic directly into the circulation, and relief from pain is often almost 
instantaneous. But the danger of forming the opium habit is not lessened, and the 
effect of using the drug in this form for a long time is just as injurious as opium- 
smoking itself. 



CHLOROFORM. 205 

ever, a treacherous remedy. It is cumulative in its 
effects, i. e., even a small and harmless dose, per- 
sisted in for a long period, may produce a gradual 
accumulation of evil results that in the end will 
prove fatal. 

The Physiological Effect is very marked. The 
appetite becomes capricious. The secretions are 
unnatural. Nausea and flatulency often ensueo 
Then the nervous system is involved. The heart 
is affected. Sleep is broken. Finally, the hydrate 
being decomposed, by the action of the soda in the 
blood, into formic acid and chloroform, a new 
change takes place. The acid combines with the 
soda, making sodium formate, and the blood, under 
the influence of this salt, becomes unduly fluid, as 
it does in the case of persons deprived of fresh food. 
A disease resembling scurvy is induced, and the 
skin breaks out in blotches. 



Y. CHLOROFORM. 

Chloroform is a powerful anaesthetic. It is some- 
times prescribed by a physician, and afterward (as in 
the case of laudanum, morphine, and chloral) the 
sufferer, charmed with the release from pain and the 
peaceful slumber secured, buys the dangerous drug 
for himself. Its use soon becomes an apparent 
necessity. The craving for the narcotic at a stated 
time is almost irresistible. The patient, compelled 
to give up the use of the chloroform, will demand, 
entreat, pray for another dose, in a heart-rending 
manner, never to be forgotten. Paleness and debil- 



206 THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

ity, the earliest symptoms, are followed by mental 
prostration. Familiarity with the dangerous drug 
begets carelessness. Its victims are frequently 
found dead in their beds, with the handkerchief 
from which they inhaled the volatile poison clutched 
in their lifeless hands. 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

1. Why is the pain of incipient liip-disease frequently felt in the 
knee ? 

2. Why does a child require more sleep than an aged person ? 

3. When you put your finger in the palm of a sleeping child, why 
will he grasp it ? 

4. How may we strengthen the brain ? 

5. What is the object of pain ? 

6. Why will a blow on the stomach sometimes stop the heart ? 

7. How long will it take for the brain of a man six feet high to 
receive news of an injury to his foot, and to reply ? 

8. How can we grow beautiful ? 

9. Why do intestinal worms ever affect a child's sight ? 

10. Is there any indication of character in physiognomy? 

11. When one's finger is burned, where is the ache ? 

12. Is a parlor generally a healthful room ? 

13. Why can an idle scholar read his lesson and at the same time 
count the marbles in his pocket ? 

14. In amputating a limb, what part, when divided, will cause the 
keenest pain ? 

15. What is the effect of bad air on nervous people ? 

16. Is there any truth in the proverb that "he who sleeps dines?" 

17. What does a high, wide forehead indicate ? 

18. How does indigestion frequently cause a headache ? 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 207 

19. What is the cause of one's foot being " asleep " ?* 

20. When an injury to the nose has been remedied by transplanting 
skin from the forehead, why is a touch to the former felt in the 
latter ? 

21. Are closely-curtained windows healthful? 

22. Why, in falling from a height, do the limbs instinctively take a 
position to defend the important organs ? 

23. What causes the pylorus to open and close at the right time ? 

24. Why is pleasant exercise most beneficial ? 

25. Why does grief cause one to lose his appetite ? 

26. Why should w^e never study directly after dinner ? 

27. What produces the peristaltic movement of the stomach ? 

28. Why is a healthy child so restless and full of mischief? 

29. Why is a slight blow on the back of a rabbit's neck fatal ? 

30. Why can one walk and carry on a conversation at the same 
time? 

31. What are the dangers of over-study ? 

32. What is the influence of idleness upon the brain ? 

33. State the close relation which exists between physical and men- 
tal health and disease. 

34. In what consists the value of the power of habit ? 

35. How many pairs of nerves supply the eye ? 

36. Describe the reflex actions in reading aloud. 

37. Under what circumstances does paralysis occur ? 

38. If the eyelids of a profound sleeper were raised, and a candle 
brought near, would the iris contract ? 

39. How does one cough in his sleep ? 

40. Give illustrations of the unconscious action of the brain. 

41. Is chewing tobacco more injurious than smoking? 

42. Ought a man to retire from business while his faculties are still 
unimpaired ? 

43. Which is the more exhaustive to the brain, worry or severe men- 
tal application ? 

* " Here the nervous force is prevented from passing by compression. Just how 
this is done, or what is Isept from passing, we cannot tell. If a current of elec- 
tricity were moving. through a rubber tube full of mercury, a slight squeeze would 
interrupt it. These cases may depend on the same general principle, but wc cannot 
assert iV—^Ruxley.) The tingling sensation caused by the compression is trans- 
ferred to the foot, whence the nerve starts. 



208 PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

44. Is it a blessing to be placed beyond the necessity for work ? * 

45. Show how auger, hate, and the other degrading passions are 
destructive to the brain ? f 

46. Are not amusements, to repair the waste of the nervous energy, 
especially needed by persons whose life is one of care and toil ? 

47. Is not severe mental labor incompatible with a rapidly -growing 
body? 

48. How shall we induce the system to perform all its functions 
regularly ? 

* " It is a poor \iew of woman's duties and capacities that confines her to a little 
busy idleness, because the chances of fortune have placed her beyond the necessity 
of earning a living ; and they must have but a narrow notion of the exigencies of 
social life who believe that any woman of tolerable health and strength may not find 
abundant opportunities for that kind of work which afi"ords no other recompense 
than the consciousness of doing good, and therefore to be done by those who can 
dispense with every other compensation. A life of idleness and luxurious ease can 
be no more honorable to one sex than to the other, and we know very well that in a 
man it creates no claims upon the respect and confidence of the community." 

t " One of the surest means for keeping the body and mind in perfect health con- 
sists in learning to hold the passions in subservience to the reasoning faculties. 
This rule applies to every passion. Man, distinguished from all other animals by the 
peculiarity tliat his reason is placed above his passions to be the director of his will, 
can protect himself from every mere animal degradation resulting from passionate 
excitement. The education of the man should be directed not to suppress such 
passions as are ennobling, but to bring all under governance, and specially to subdue 
those most destructive passions, anger, hate, and fear." 



VIII. 

SPECIAL SENSES, 



'■'■See hotv yon beam of seeming xuhite 
Is braided out of seven-hued light ; 
Yet in those lucid globes no ray 
By any chance shall break astray. 
Hark, how the rolling surge of sound. 
Arches and spirals circling round. 
Wakes the hushed spirit through thine ear 
With music it is heaven to hear." 

Holmes. 



" Let us remember that if we get a glimpse of the details of natural 
phenomena, and of those movements zuhich constitute life, it is not in con- 
sidering them as a whole, but in analyzing them as far as our lijfiited means 
zui II permit. In the vibrations of the globe of air which stirrounds our 
planet, as in the undulations of the ether zvhich fills the immensity of space, 
it is always by molecules zvhich are intangible for tis, ptit in motion by 
nature, always by the infinitely little, that she acts in exciting the organs 
of sense, and she has modeled these organs in a proportion ivhich enables 
them to partake in the movement which she impresses upon the universe. 
She can paint with equal facility on a fraction of a line of space on the 
retina., the grandest landscape or the nerve lets of a rose-leaf; the celestial 
vault on ivhich Sirius is but a luminous point, or the sparkling dtist of a 
butterfly's wing : the roar of the tempest, the roll of thtmder, the echo of an 
avalanche, find equal place in the labyrinth whose almost imperceptible 
cavities seem destined to receive only the most delicate sounds." 



B3L.ACKBO-A.RI3 a:N-AJL,YSIS. 



1. The Touch . 



•2. The Taste. 



3. The Smell. 



4. The Heaking 



5. The Sight. 



1. Description of the Organ. 

2. Its Uses. 

1. Description of the Organ. 

2. Its Uses. 



t: 



Description of the Organ, 
Its Uses. 

r a. External Ear. 
Description of the Organ. -{ b. ^Middle Ear. 

t c. Internal Ear. 
How we hear. 



2 
I 3. Hygiene of the Ear 



f 1. Description of the Organ. 

2. Eyelids, and Tears. 

3. Structure of the Retina. 

4. How we see. 

5. The Use of the Crystalline Lens. 

6. Near, and Far Sight, 

7. Color-blindness. 

8. Hygiene of the Eyes. 



THE SPECIAL SENSES. 



1. TOUCH. 



DESCRIPTION.— Touch is sometimes called the 
'* common sense," since its nerves are spread 
over the whole body. It is most delicate, hof^ever, 
in the point of the tongue and the tips of the fingers. 
The surface of the cutis is covered with minute, 
conical projections called papillce (Fig. 24).* Each 
of these contains its tiny nerve-twigs, that receive 
the impression and transmit it to the brain, where 
the perception is produced. 

Uses. — Touch is the first of the senses used by a 
child. By it we obtain our idea of solidity, and 
throughout life rectify all other sensations. Thus, 
when we see anything curious, our first desire is to 
handle it. 

The sensation of touch is generally relied upon, 
yet, if we hold a marble in the manner shown in 
Fig. 57, it will seem like two marbles ; and if we 
touch the fingers thus crossed to our tongue, we 
shall feel two tongues. Again, if we close our eyes 
and let another person move one of our fingers over 

* In the palm of the hand, where there are at least 12,000 in a square inch, we can 
see the fine ridges along which they are arranged. 



212 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 

a plane surface, first lightly, then with greater 
pressure, and then lightly again, we shall think the 
surface concave. 

Fig. 57. 




This organ is capable of wonderful cultivation. 
The physician acquires by practice the tactus erudi- 
tiis,^ or learned touch, which is often of great ser- 
vice. The delicacy of touch possessed by the blind 
almost compensates the loss of the absent sense. \ 

* An educated sense of touch was possessed by the late Dr. March of Albany, to a 
remarkable degree. It had been cultivated and perfected in the course of extensive 
surgical practice to such an extent as to become delicate, precise, and nearly unfail- 
ing as a means of diagnosis. On one occasion the Doctor was summoned to see a 
man who was supposed to have extensive cancerous disease of the thigh, which had 
been developing many months. The importance of the case had called an unusual 
number of physicians to the bedside of the patient, and after very thorough examina- 
tion of the unyielding swelling by them all, Dr. March subjected it to close scrutiny, 
using his fingers with astonishing caution and delicacy, and appearing to be absorbed 
in the investigation. A consultation followed in an adjoining room, and from the 
youngest to the oldest, opinions were expressed that the tumor was malignant in 
character and called for amputation of the thigh, as affording the only means of ar- 
resting the disease, or of saving or prolonging life. Dr. March dissented from this 
view, and boldly stated that the swelling was an abscess, which could be emptied by 
a free incision. The reputation of the surgeon, and the positiveness of his assertion, 
caused his advice to be heeded, and he was permitted to make an attempt to reach 
the matter, under mental protest of his associates that he would fail in his expecta- 
tions. The patient, willing to believe almost against hope, suffered the Doctor to 
proceed with the operation. Taking a scalpel, and guided by his fingers in selecting a 
location, he made a deep incision through the dense structures of the thigh. Nothing 
but blood flowed from the wound. A second plunge of the knife brought such an 
overwhelming discharge of pus from the immensely-distended cavity, as to amount 
in the quantity collected to several pints. Rapid recovery followed and the limb was 
saved.— 2?;-. Wm. C. Wey. 

. + The sjTiipathy between the diflferent organs shows how they all combine to 
make a home for the mind. When one sense fails, the others endeavor to remedy 
the defect. It is touching to see how the blind man gets along without eyes, and the 



TASTE. 



213 



1^}/ ,Uaju 




The Tongue, showing the three kinds of Papillce—the conical (D), the whip-like (K, 
I), the circumvallate or entrenched (H. L) ; E. F, G, nerves ; C, glottis.— Lankester. 

Description. — This sense is located in the papillae of 
the tongue and palate. These papillae start up when 
tasting, as you can see by placing a drop of vinegar 
on another person's tongue, or your own, before a 



deaf without ears. Cuthbert, though blind, was the most efficient polisher of tele- 
scopic muTors in London. Saunderson, the successor of Newton as professor of 
mathematics at Cambridge, could distinguish between real and spurious medals. 
There is an instance recorded of a blind man who could recognize colors. The author 
knew one who could tell when he was approaching a tree, as he said, by the different 
feeling of the air. 



214 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 

mirror. The velvety look of this organ is given by 
hair-like projections of the cuticle upon some of the 
papillae. They absorb the liquid to be tasted, and 
convey it to the nerves.* The back of the tongue is 
most sensitive to salt and bitter substances, and, as 
this part is supplied by the ninth pair of nerves (Fig. 
56), in sympathy with the stomach, such flavors, by 
sympathy, often produce vomiting. The edges of 
the tongue are most sensitive to sweet and sour sub- 
stances, and as this part is supplied by the fifth pair 
of nerves, which also goes to the face, an acid, by 
sympathy, distorts the countenance. 

The Use of the Taste was originally to guide in 
the selection of food ; but it has become so depraved 
by condiments and the force of habit that it would 
be a difl&cult task to tell what are one's natural 
tastes. 

3. SMELL.t 

Description. — The nose, the seat of this sense, is 
composed of cartilage covered with muscles and 
skin, and joined to the skull by small bones. The 
nostrils open at the back into the pharynx, and are 
lined by a continuation of the mucous membrane of 
the throat. The olfactory nerves (first pair. Fig. 55) 
enter through a sieve-like, bony plate at the roof of 
the nose, and are distributed over the inner surface 
of the two olfactory chambers. The object to be 



* An insoluble substance is therefore tasteless. 

t The sense of smell is so intimately connected with that of taste that we often 
fail to distinguish between them. Garlic, vanilla, coflfee, and various spices, which 
seem to have such distinct taste, have really a powerful odor but a feeble flavor. 



SMELL. 



215 



smelled need not touch the nose, but tiny particles 
borne on the air enter the nasal passages. * 

Fig. 59. 



T1...W 




A, b, c, d, interior of the nose, which is lined by a mucoics membrane ; n, the nose ; 
e, the wing of the nose ; q, the nose bones ; o, the vpper lip ; g, section of the upper 
jaw-bone; h, the upper part of the mouth., or hard palate ; m, frontal bone of the 
skull ; k, the ganglion or bulb of the olfactory nerve in the skull., from which are seen 
the branches of the nerve passing in all directions. 



* " Three-quarters of a grain of musk placed in a room cause a very powerful 
smell for a considerable length of time without any sensible diminution in weight, 
and the box in which musk has been placed retains the perfume for almost an in- 
definite period. Haller relates that some papers which ha8 been perfumed by a grain 
of ambergris were still very odoriferous after a lapse of forty years. Odors are 
transported by the air to a considerable distance. A dog recognizes his master's 
approach by smell even when he is far away ; and we are assured by navigators that 
the winds bring the delicious odors of the balmy forests of Ceylon to a distance of 
ten leagues from the coast. Even after making due allowance for the effects of the 
imagination, it is certain that odors act as an excitant on the brain, which may be 
dangerous when long continued. They are especially dreaded by the Roman women. 
It is well known that in ancient times the women of Rome indulged in a most im- 
moderate use of baths and perfumes ; but those of our times have nothing in common 
with them in this respect ; and the words of a lady are quoted, who said on admiring 
an artificial rose^ ' It is all the more beautiful that it has no smell.'' We are warned by 
the proverb not to discuss colors or tastes, and we may add odors also. Men and 



216 



THE SPECIAL SENSES. 



The Uses of the sense of smell are to guide us in 
the choice of our food, and to warn us against bad 
air, and unhealthy localities. 

4. HEARINGa-"^ 

Fig. 60. '^ 




The Ear. 



Description. — The ear is divided into the external, 
middle, and internal ear. 

1. The External Ear is a sheet of cartilage 
curiously folded for catching sound. The auditory 
canal, B, or tube of this ear-trumpet, is about an 
inch long. Across the lower end is stretched the 
membrane of the tympanum, or drum, which is kept 
soft by a fluid wax. 

nations differ singnlaii.v in this respect. Tlic Laplander and the Esquimaux find the 
smell of fish- oil delicious. Wrangel saj's his compatriots, the Russians, are very 
fond of the odor of piclcled cabbage, which forms an important part of their food ; 
■and asafcetida, it is said, is used as a condiment in Persia, and, in spite of its name, 
there are persons who do not find its odor disagreeable any more than that of vale- 
rian."— PFowrfer* of the Human Body. 



HEARING. 217 

2. The Middle Ear is a cavity, at the bottom of 
which is the Eustachian tube, G, leading to the 
mouth. Across this chamber hangs a chain of three 
singular little bones, C, named from their shape the 
hammer, the anvil, and the stirrup. All together 
these tiny bones weigh only a few grains, yet they 
are covered by a periosteum, are supplied with 
blood-vessels, and they articulate with perfect joints 
(one a ball-and-socket, the other a hinge), having 
synovial membranes, cartilages, ligaments, and 
muscles. 

3. The Internal Ear, or labyrinth, as it is some- 
times called from its complex character, is hollowed 
out of the solid bone. In front, is the vestibule or 
ante-chamber. A, about as large as a grain of wheat ; 
from it open three semi-circular canals, D, and the 
winding stair of the cochlea, or snail shell, E. Here 
expand the delicate fibrils of the auditory nerve. 
Floating in the liquid which fills the labyrinth is 
a little bag containing hair-like bristles, fine sand, 
and two ear-stones {otoliths). All these knocking 
against the ends of the nerves, serve to increase 
any impulse given to the liquid in which they lie. 
Finally, to complete this delicate apparatus, in the 
cochlea are minute tendrils, named the fibers of 
Corti, from their discoverer. These are regularly 
arranged, — the longest at the bottom, and the 
shortest at the top. Could this spiral plate, which 
coils two and a half times around, be unrolled and 
made to stand upright, it would form a beautiful 
microscopic harp of three thousand strings. If it 
were possible to strike these cords as one can the 
keyboard of a piano, he could produce in the mind 



218 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 

of the person experimented upon every variety of 
tone which the ear can distinguish. 

How "We Hear. — Whenever one body strikes an- 
other in the air, waves are produced, just as when 
we throw a stone into the water a series of con- 
centric circles surrounds the spot where it sinks. 
These waves of air strike upon the membrane. This 
vibrates, and sends the motion along the chain of 
bones in the middle ear to the fluids of the laby- 
rinth. Here bristles, sand, and stones pound away, 
and the wondrous harp of the cochlea, catching up 
the pulsations,"^ carries them to the fibers of the 
auditory nerve, which conveys them to the brain, 
and gives the mind the idea of sound. 

Care of the Ear. — The delicacy of the ear is such 
that it needs the greatest ca.re. Cold water should 
not be allowed to enter the auditory canal. If the 
wax accumulate, never remove it with a hard instru- 
ment, lest the delicate membrane be injured, but 
with a little warm water, after which turn the head 
to let the water run out, and wipe the ear dry. 
The hair around the ears should never be left wet, 
as it may chill this sensitive organ. If an insect 
get in the external ear, pour in a little oil to kill it, 
and then remove with tepid water. The object of 
the Eustachian tube is to admit air into the ear, and 
thus equalize the pressure on the membrane. If it 
become closed by a cold, or if, from any cause, the 



* The orisrinal motion is constantly modified hy the medium through which it 
passes. The bristles, otoliths, and Cortiau fibers of the ear, and the rods and cones 
of-the eye (p. 221) serve to convert the \ibrations into pulsations which act as sfimvli 
of the appropriate nerve. The molecular change thus produced iu the nerve-fibers is 
propagated to the brain. {Physics, p. 142.) 



SIGHT. 



219 



pressure be made unequal, so as to produce an 
unpleasant feeling in the ear, relief may often be 
obtained by grasping the nose and forcibly swal- 
lowing. 




The Eye. 

Description. — The eye is lodged in a bony cavity, 
protected by the overhanging brow. It is a globe, 
about an inch in diameter. The ball is covered by 
three coats— (1) the sclerotic, d, a tough, horny casing, 
which gives shape to the eye, the convex, trans- 
parent part in front forming a window, the cornea, c ; 
(2) the choroid, e, a black lining, to absorb the super- 
fluous light ; * and (3) the retina, h, a membrane in 



* Neither white rabbits nor albinos have this black 
is confused. 



and hence their sight 



220 



THE SPECIAL SENSES. 



which expand fibers of the optic nerve, o. The crys- 
talline lens, a, brings the rays of light to a focus on 
the retina. The lens is kept in place by the ciliary 
processes, g, arranged like the rays in the disk of a 
passion-flower. Between the cornea and the crys- 
talline lens is a limpid fluid termed the aqueous 
humor J while the vitreous humor — a transparent, 
jelly-like liquid — fills the space {h) back of the crys- 
talline lens. The pupil, k, is a hole in the colored, 
muscular curtain, i, the iris (rainbow). 



Firi. 62. 




TJie Eyelashes and the Teat'- glands. 



Eyelids and Tears. — The eyelids are close-fitting 
shutters to screen the eye. The inner side is lined 
with a mucous membrane that is exceedingly sensi- 
tive, and thus aids in protecting the eye from any 
irritating substance. The looseness of the skin 
favors swelling from inflammation or the effusion 
of blood, as in a ''black eye." The eyelashes serve 
as a kind of sieve to exclude the dust, and, with the 



STRUCTURE OF THE RETINA. 



221 



Fig 



lids, to shield against a blinding light. Just within 
the lashes are oil glands, which lubricate the edges 
of the lids, and prevent them from adhering to each 
other. The tear or lachrymal gland, G, is an oblong 
body lodged in the bony wall of the orbit. It 
empties by several ducts upon the inner surface, 
at the outer edge of the upper eyelid. Thence the 
tears, washing the eye, run into the 
lachrymal lake, D, a little basin 
with a rounded border fitted for 
their reception. On each side of 
this lake two canals, C, C, drain 
off the overplus through the duct, 
B, into the nose. In old age and 
in disease, these canals fail to con- 
duct the tears away, and hence the 
lachrymal lake overflows upon the 
face. 

Structure of the Retina. — In Fig. 
63 is shown a section of the retina, 
greatly magnified, since this mem- 
brane never exceeds gV of an inch 
in thickness. On the inner surface 
next to the vitreous humor, is a 
lining membrane not shown in the 
cut. Next to the choroid and com- 
prising about J the entire thickness 
of the retina, is a multitude of 
transparent, colorless, microscopic 
rods, a, evenly arranged-*and packed side by side, 
like the seeds on the disk of a sunflower. Among 
them, at regular intervals, are interspersed the 
cones, h. Delicate nerve fibers pass from the ends 




structure of the Retina. 



222 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 

of the rods and cones, each expanding into a granu- 
lar body, c, thence weaving a mesh, d, and again 
expanding into the granules, /. Last is a layer of 
fine nerve-fibers, g, and gray, ganglionic cells, h, 
like the gray matter of the brain, whence filaments 
extend into ^, the fibers of the optic nerve. 

The layer of rods and cones is to the eye what the 
bristles, otoliths, and Cortian fibers are to the ear. 
Indeed, the nerve itself is insensible to light. At 
the point where it enters the eye, there are no rods 

Fig. 6k. 




and cones, and this is called the hlind spot. A sim- 
ple experiment will illustrate the fact. Hold this 
book directly before the face, and, closing the left 
eye, look steadily with the right at the left-hand 
circle in Fig. 64. Move the book back and forth, 
and a point will be found where the right-hand 
circle vanishes from sight. At that moment its 
light falls upon the spot where the rods and cones 
are lacking. 

How "We See. — There is believed to be a kind of 
universal atmosphere, termed ether, filling all space. 
This substance is infinitely more subtle than the air, 
and occupies its pores, as well as those of all other 
substances. As sound is caused by waves in the 



THE USE OF THE CRYSTALLINE LENS. 223 

atmosphere, so light is produced by waves in the 
ether. A lamp-light, for example, sets in motion 
waves of ether, which pass in through the pupil 
of the eye to the retina, where the rods and cones 
transmit the vibration through the optic nerve to 
the brain, and then the mind perceives the light 
(note, p. 218). 

The Use of the Crystalline Lens. * — A convex 
lens, as a common burning-glass, bends the rays of 

Fig. 65. 




Diagram showing how an image of an object is formed upon the retina by the 
Crystalline Lens. 

light which pass through it, so that they meet at a 
point called the focus. The crystalline lens con- 
verges the rays of light which enter the eye, and 
brings them to a focus on the retina, f The healthy 
lens has a power of changing its convexity so as 
to adapt X itself to near and to distant objects. 
(See Fig. 66.) 

* The uses of the eye are largely dependent upon the principles of Optics and 
Acoustics. They are therefore best treated in Physics. 

t The cornea and the humors of the eye act in the same manner as the crystalline 
lens, but not so powerfully. 

X The simplest way of experimenting on the " adjustment of the eye " is to stick 
two stout needles upright into a straight piece of wood,— not exactly, but nearly in 



224 



THE SPECIAL SENSES. 



Near and Far Sight— If the lens be too convex, it 
will bring the rays to a focus before they reach the 
retina ; if too flat, they will reach the retina before 
coming to a focus. In either case, the sight will be 

Fig. 66. 




Adjust„L^,t, ^j u.^ Crystalline Lens. A, for far ol^ects, and B,for near. 

indistinct. A more common defect, however, is in 
the shape of the globe of the eye. which is either 




Diagram illustrating the position of the Fetina.—B. in naturaJ, sight . 
sight ; and C, in near sight. 



G, in far 



flattened or elongated. In the former case (see G, 
Fig. 67), objects at a distance can be seen most dis- 



the same straight line, so that, on applying the eye to one end of the piece of wood, 
one needle (A) shall be seen about six inches off, and the other (B) just on one side 
of it, at twelve inches distance. If the observer looks at the needle B he will find 
that he sees it very distinctly, and without the least sense of effort : but the image 
of A is blurred and more or less double. Now, let him try to make this blurred 
image of the needle A distinct. He will find he can do so readily enough, but that 
the act is accompanied by a sense of fatigue. And in proportion as A becomes 
distinct, B will become blurred. Nor will any effort enable him to see A and B 
distinctly at the same time.— Huxley. 



COLOR;BLIND PERSONS. 225 

tinctly — hence that is called far-sightedness.* In 
the latter, objects near by are clearer, and hence 
this is termed near-sightedness. Far-sightedness is 
remedied by convex glasses ; near-sightedness, by 
concave. When glasses will improve the sight they 
should be worn ;t any delay will be liable to injure 
the eyes, by straining their already impaired power. 
Cataract is a disease in which there is an opacity of 
the crystalline lens or its capsules, which obscures 
the vision. The lens may be caused to be absorbed, 
or may be removed by a skilful surgeon and the 
defect remedied by wearing convex glasses. 

Color-blind Persons receive only two of the three \ \a\ 
elementary color - sensations (green, red, violet). ^^ ' 
The spectrum appears to them to consist of two 
decidedly different colors, with a band of neutral tint 
between. The extreme red end is invisible, and a 
bright scarlet and a deep green appear alike. They 
are unable to distinguish between the leaves of a 
cherry-tree and its fruit by the color of the two, and 
see no difference between blue and yellow cloth. 
Whittier, the poet, it is said, cannot tell red from 
green unless in direct sunlight. Once he patched 
some damaged wall-paper in his library by matching 
a green vine in the pattern with one of a bright 
autumnal crimson. This defect in the eye is often 
unnoticed, and many railway accidents have doubt- 

* This should not be confounded with the long sight of old people, which is 
caused by the stiffness of the ciliary muscles, whereby the lens cannot adapt itself to 
the varying distances of objects. 

t Dr. Henry W. WiUiams, the celebrated ophthalmologist, says that, in some 
cases, glasses are more necessary at six or eight years of age than to the majority of 
healthy eyes at sixty. Sometimes children find accidentally that they can see better 
through grandmother's spectacles. They should then be supplied with their own. 



226 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 

less happened through an inability to detect the 
color of signal lights. 

Care of the Eyes. — The shape of the eye cannot 
be changed by rubbing and pressing it, as many 
suppose, but the sight may thus be fatally injured. 
Children troubled by near-sightedness should not 
lean forward at their work, as thereby the vessels 
of the eye become overcharged with blood. They 
should avoid fine print, and try, in every possible 
way, to spare their eyes. If middle age be reached 
without especial difficulty of sight, the person is 
comparatively safe. Most cases of squinting are 
caused by long-sightedness, the muscles being 
strained in the effort to obtain distinct vision. In 
childhood, it may be cured by a competent surgeon, 
who will generally cut the muscle that draws the 
eye out of place. 

Healthy eyes even should never be used to read 
fine print or by a dim light. Serious injury may be 
caused by an imprudence of this kind. Reading 
upon the cars is also a fruitful source of harm. The 
lens, striving to adapt itself to the incessantly -vary- 
ing distance of the page, soon becomes wearied. 

Objects that get into the eye should be removed 
before they cause inflammation ; rubbing in the 
mean time only irritates and increases the sensitive- 
ness. If the eye be shut for a few moments, so as to 
let the tears accumulate, and the upper lid be then 
lifted by taking hold of it at the center, the cinder 
or dust is often washed away at once. Trifling ob- 
jects can be removed by simply drawing the upper 
lid as far as possible over the lower one ; when the 
lid flies back to its place, the friction will detach 



CARE OF THE EYES. 227 

any light substance. If it becomes necessary, turn 
the upper lid over a pencil, and the intruder may 
then be wiped off with a handkerchief. ^* Eye- 
stones '' are a popular delusion. When they seem to 
take out a cinder, it is only because they raise the 
eyelid, and allow the tears to wash it out. N"o one 
should ever use an eye-wash, except by medical 
advice. The eye is too delicate an organ to be trifled 
with, and when any disease is suspected, a reliable 
physician should be consulted. This is especially 
necessary, since, when one eye is injured, the other, 
by sympathy, is liable to become inflamed, and per- 
haps be destroyed. 

When reading or working, the light should he at 
one side, and never in front. 

The constant increase of defective eyesight among 
the pupils in our schools is an alarming fact. Dr. 
Agnew considers that our school-rooms are fast 
making us a spectacle-using people. ISTear-sighted- 
ness seems to increase from class to class, until, in 
the upper departments, there are sometimes as high 
as fifty per cent, of the pupils thus afflicted. The 
causes are (1), desks so placed as to make the light 
from the windows shine directly into the eyes of the 
scholars ; (2), cross-lights from opposite windows ; 
(3), insufficient light ; (4), small type that strains the 
eyes ; and (5), the position of the pupil as he bends 
over his desk or slate, causing the blood to settle in 
his eyes. All these causes can be remedied ; the 
position of the desks can be changed ; windows can 
be shaded, or new ones inserted ; books and news- 
papers that try the eyes can be rejected ; and every 
pupil can be taught how to sit at study. 



228 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 

PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 

1. Why does a laundress test the temperature of her flat-iron by 
holding it near her cheek ? 

2. When we are cold, why do we spread the palms of our hands 
before the fire? 

3. What is meant by a " furred tongue " ? 

4. Why has sand or sulphur no taste ? 

5. What was the origin of the word palatable ? 

6. Why does a cold in the head injure the flavor of our coffee ? 

7. Name some so-called flavors that are really sensations of touch. 

8. What is the object of the hairs in the nostrils? 

9. What use does the nose subserve in the process of respiration ? 

10. Why do we sometimes hold the nose when we take unpleasant 
medicine ? 

11. Why was the nose placed over the mouth ? 

13. Describe how the hand is adapted to be the instrument of touch? 

13. Besides being the organ of taste, what use does the tongue sub- 
serve ? 

14. Why is not the act of tasting complete until we swallow? 

15. Why do all things have the same flavor when one's tongue is 
" furred " by fever ? 

16. Which sense is the more useful — hearing or sight ? 

17. Which coat is the white of the eye ? 

18. What makes the difference in the color of eyes ? 

19. Why do we snuff the air when we wish to obtain a distinct 
smell ? 

20. Why do red-hot iron and frozen mercury (—40°) produce the same 
sensation ? 

21. Why can an elderly person drink tea which to a child would be 
unbearably hot ? 

22. Why does an old man hold his paper so far from his eyes ? 

23. Would you rather be punished on the tips of your fingers than on 
the palm of your hand ? 

24. What is the object of the eyebrows ? Are the hairs straight ? 

25. What is the use of winking ? 

26. When you wink, do the eyelids touch at once along their whole 
length ? Why ? 



PRACTICAL QUESTIONS. 229 

27. How many rows of hairs are there in the eyebrows? 

28. Do all nations have eyes of the same shape ? 

29. Why does snuflf-taking cause a flow of tears ? 

30. Why does a fall cause one to " see stars " ? 

31. Why can we not see with the nose, or smell with the eyes ? 

32. What causes the roughness of a cat's tongue ? 

33. Is the cuticle essential to touch ? 

34. Can one tickle himself ? 

35. Why does a bitter taste often produce vomiting ? 

36. Is there any danger in looking " cross-eyed " for fun ? 

37. Should school-room desks face a window ? 

38 Why do we look at a person to whom we are listening atten- 
tively? 

39. Do we really feel with our fingers ? 

40. Is the eye a perfect sphere ? (See Fig. 61.) 

41. How often do we wink ? 

42. Why is the interior of a telescope or microscope often painted 
black V 

43. What IS " the apple of the eye " ? 

44. What form of glasses do old people require? 

45. Should we ever wash our ears with cold water ? 

46. What is the object of the winding passages in the nose ? 

47. Can a smoker tell in the dark, whether or not his cigar is 
lighted ? 

48. Will a nerve re-unite after it has been cut? 

49. Will the sight give us an idea of solidity ? * 

* " A case occurred a few years ago, In London, where a friend of my own per- 
formed an operation upon a young woman who had been born blind, and, though an 
attempt had been made in early years to cure her, it had failed. She was able just to 
distinguish large objects, the general shadow, as it were, without any distinct per- 
ception of form, and to distinguish light from darkness. She could work well with 
her needle by the touch, and could use her scissors and bodkin and other implements 
by the training of her hand, so to speak, alone. Well, my friend happened to see 
her, and he examined her eyes, and told her that he thought he could get her sight 
restored ; at any rate, it was worth a trial. The operation succeeded ; anA, being a 
man of intelligence and quite aware of the interest of snch a case, he carefully 
studied and observed it ; and he completj^ confirmed all that had been previously 
laid down by the experience of similar cases. There was one little incident which 
will give you an idea of the education which is required for what you would suppose 
is a thing perfectly simple and obvious. She could not distinguish by sight the 
things that she was perfectly familiar with by the touch, at least when they were first 
presented to her eyes. She could not recognize even a pair of scissors. Now, you 



230 THE SPECIAL SENSES. 

50. Why can .a skillful surgeon determine the condition of the brain 
and other internal organs by examining the interior of the eye ? * 

51. Is there any truth in the idea that the image of the murderer can 
be seen in the eye of the dead victim ? 

■would have supposed that a pair of scissors, of all things in the world, having been 
continually used by her, and their form having become perfectly familiar to her 
hands, would have been most readily recognized by her sight; and yet she did not 
know what they were; she had not an idea until she was told, and then she laughed, 
as she said, at her own stupidity. No stupidity at all ; she had never learned it, and 
it was one of those things which she could not know without learning. One of the 
earliest cases of this kind was related by the celebrated Cheselden, a surgeon of the 
early part of last century. Cheselden relates how a youth just in this condition had 
been accustomed to play with a cat and a dog ; but for some time after he attained 
his sight he never could tell which was which, and used to be continually making 
mista;kes. One day, being rather ashamed of himself for having called the cat the 
dog, he took up the cat in his arms and looked at her very attentively for some time, 
stroking her all the while ; and in this way he associated the impression derived 
from the touch, and made himself master (so to speak) of the whole idea of the 
animal. He then put the cat down, saying, 'Now, puss, I shall know you another 
time.' '"'—Carpenter. 

* This is done by means of an instrument called the ophthalmoscope. Light is 
thrown into the eye with a concave mirror, and the interior of the organ examined 
with a lens. 



CONCLUSION. 



YALUE of Health. — The body is the instrument 
which the mind uses. If it be dulled or nicked, 
the effect of the best labor will be impaired. The 
grandest gifts of mind or fortune are comparatively 
valueless unless there be a healthy body to use and 
enjoy them. The beggar, sturdy and brave with his 
out-door life, is really happier than the rich man in 
his palace with the gout to twinge him amid his 
pleasures. The day has gone by when delicacy is 
considered an element of beauty. Weakness is 
timid and irresolute ; strength is full of force and 
energy. Weakness walks or creeps ; strength speeds 
the race, wins the goal, and rejoices in the victory. 

False Ideas of Disease. — It was formerly supposed 
that diseases were caused by evil spirits, who en- 
tered the body and deranged its action. Incanta- 
tions, spells, etc., were resorted to in order to drive 
them out. By others, disease was thought to come 
arbitrarily, or as a special visitation of an over-ruling 
power. Hence, it was to be removed by fasting and 
prayer. Modern science teaches us that disease is 
not a thing, but a state. When our food is properly 
assimilated, the waste matter promptly excreted, 
and all the organs work in harmony, we are well ; 



232 CONCLUSION. 

when any derangement of these functions occurs, 
we are sick. Sickness is discord, as health is con- 
cord. If we abuse or misuse any instrument, we 
impair its ability to produce a perfect harmony. A 
suffering body is simply the penalty of violated 
law. 

Prevention of Disease. — Doubtless a large propor- 
tion of the ills which now afflict and rob us of so 
much time and pleasure might easily be avoided. A 
proper knowledge and observance of hygienic laws 
would greatly lessen the number of such diseases as 
consumption, catarrh, gout, rheumatism, dyspepsia, 
scrofula, etc. There are parts of England where 
one-half the children die before they are ^ve years 
old. Every physiologist knows that at least nine- 
tenths of these lives could be saved by an observance 
of the simple laws of health. Professor Bennet, in a 
lecture at Edinburgh, estimated that 100,000 persons 
die annually in that country from causes easily pre- 
ventable. 

With the advance of science, the causes of many 
diseases have been determined. Vaccination has 
been found to prevent or mitigate the ravages of 
small-pox. Scurvy, formerly so fatal among sailors 
that it was deemed '^ a mysterious infliction of 
Divine Justice against which man strives in vain," 
is now entirely avoided by the use of vegetables or 
lime-juice. Cholera, whose approach still strikes 
dread, and for which there is no known specific, is 
but the penalty for filthy streets, bad drainage, and 
over-crowded tenements, and may be controlled, if 
not prevented, by suitable sanitary measures. It 
was, no doubt, the intention that we should wear out 



CURE OF DISEASE. 233 

by the general decay of all the organs,* rather than 
by the giving out of any single part, and that all 
should work together harmoniously until the vital 
force is exhausted. 

Cure of Disease. — The first step in the cure of any 
disease is to obey the law of health which has been 
violated. If medicine be taken, it is not to destroy 
the disease, since that is not a thing to be destroyed, 
but to hold the deranged action in check while na- 
ture repairs the injury, and again brings the system 
into harmonious movement. This tendency of na- 
ture is our chief reliance. The best physicians are 
coming to have diminished confidence in medicine 
itself, and to place greater dependence upon sanitary 
and hygienic measures, and the efforts which nature 
always makes to repair injuries and soothe dis- 
ordered action. They endeavor only to give her a 
fair chance, and sometimes to assist her by the in- 
telligent employment of proper medicines. The in- 
discriminate use of patent nostrums and sovereign 
remedies of whose constituents we know nothing, 
and by which powerful drugs are imbibed at hap- 
hazard, cannot be too greatly deprecated, f When 

* " So long as the phenomena of waste and repair are in harmony— so long, in 
other words, as the builder follows the scavenger — so long man exists in integrity 
and repair— just, indeed, as houses exist. Derange nutrition, and at once degenera-. 
tion, or rather let us say, alteration begins. Alas 1 that we are so ignorant that there 
are many things about our house, which, seeing them weaken, we know not how to 
strengthen. About the brick and the mortar, the frame and the rafters, we are not 
unlearned ; but within are many complexities, many chinks and crannies, full in 
themselves of secondary chinks and crannies, and these so small, so deep, so re- 
cessed, that it happens every day that the destroyer settles himself in some place so 
obscure, that, while he kills, he laughs at defiance. You or 1 meet with an accident 
in our watch. We consult the watchmaker, and he repairs the injury. If we were 
all that watchmakers, like ourselves, should be, a man could be made to keep time 
until he died from old age or annihilating accident. This I firmly and fully believe." 
—Odd Hours of a Physician. 

+ A traveler in Africa states that he was surprised and delighted to find in the 



^84 CONCLUSION. 

one needs medicine, he needs also a competent phy- 
sician to advise its use. 

Death and Decay. — By a mystery we cannot under- 
stand, life is linked with death, and out of the decay 
of our bodies they, day by day, spring afresh. At 
last the vital force which has held death and decay 
in bondage, and compelled them to minister to our 
growth, and serve the needs of our life, faints and 
yields the struggle. These powers which have so 
long time been our servants, gather about our dying 
couch, and their last offices usher us into the new 
life and the grander possibilities of the world to 
come. This last birth, we who see the fading, not 
the dawning, life, call death. 

"O Father! ^rant Thy love divine, 
To make these mystic temples Thine, 
When wasting age and wearying strife 
Have sapp'd the leaning walls of life ; 
When darkness gathers over all, 
And the last tottering pillars fall, 
Take the poor dust Thy mercy warms, 
And mold it into heavenly forms." 

Holmes. 



possession of the chief medicine man of one of the interior tribes a carefully pre- 
served copy of the New York Tribune. On inquiry, lie found that it was exceedingly 
valuable, as a minute fragment of it either rubbed on the outside or taken inwardly 
■was a sovereign remedy for as long a list of diseases as ever graced the advertisement 
of an American pain-killer. The mania which some people possess for tippling -n-ith 
patent medicines is no more sensible than the trust of the poor savage in a New York 
daily. 



APPENDIX. 



HINTS 

ABOUT 

THE SICK-ROOM 



A SICK-ROOM should be the lightest and cheeriest in the house. 
A small, close, dark bedroom or a recess is bad enough for one 
in health, but unendurable for a sick person. In a case of fever, and 
in many acute diseases, it should be remote from the noise of the 
family; but when one is recovering from an accident, and in all 
attacks where quiet is not needed, the patient may be where he can 
amuse himself by watching the movements of the household, or look- 
ing out upon the street. 

The ventilation imist be thorough. Bad air will poison the sick and 
the well alike. A fireplace is, therefore, desirable. Windows should 
open easily. By carefully protecting the patient with extra blankets, 
the room may be frequently aired. If there be no direct draught, much 
may be done to change the air, by simply swinging an outer door to 
and fro many times. 

A bare floor, with strips of carpet here and there to deaden noise, is 
cleanest, and keeps the air freest from dust. Cane-bottomed chairs 
are preferable to upholstered ones. All unnecessary furniture should 
be removed out of the way. A straw bed or a mattress is better than 
feathers. The bed-hangings, lace curtains, etc., should be taken down. 
Creaking hinges should be oiled. Sperm candles are better than 
kerosene lamps. 

Never whisper in a sick-room. All necessarj^ conversation should be 
carried on in the usual tone of voice. Do not call a physician 
unnecessarily, but if one be employed obey his directions implicitly. 



^38 WHAT TO DO 

Never give nostrums over-officious friends may suggest. Do not 
allow visitors to see the patient, except it be necessary. Never bustle 
about the room, nor go on tip-toe, but move in a quiet, ordinary way. 
Do not keep the bottles in the continued sight of the sick person. 
Never let drinking-water stand in the room. 

Do not raise the patient's head to drink, but have a cup with a long 
spout, or use a bent tube, or even a straw. Do not tempt the appe- 
tite when it craves no food. Bathe frequently, but let the physician 
prescribe the method. Give written directions to the watchers. Have 
all medicines carefully marked. Remove all soiled clothing, etc., at 
once from the room. Change the linen much oftener than in health. 
When you wish to change the sheets, and the patient is unable to rise, 
roll the under sheet tightly lengthwise to the middle of the bed ; put 
on the clean sheet, with half its width folded up, closely to the other 
roll ; lift the patient on to the newly-made part, remove the soiled 
sheet, and then spread out the clean one. 



DISINFECTANTS. 



An excellent disinfectant may be made by dissolving in a pail of 
water any one of the three following : (i) a fluid ounce of carbolic 
acid ; (2) half an ounce of permanganate of potash ; (3) a pound of 
green vitriol. The solution of the first kind may be sprinkled on the 
floor or on the bedding, or allowed to evaporate in the room. Bed- 
ding may be washed in the solution of the second substance. Ill 
odors in the sick-room will be instantly removed by evaporating a few 
drops of carbolic acid. Vaults, drains, etc.,. may be purified by the 
solution of the third kind. Chloride of lime may be used for the same 
purpose. 



^VHAT TO DO TILL THE DOCTOR 
COMES. 

Burns. — When a person's clothes catch fire, quickly lay him on the 
ground, wrap him in a coat, mat, shawl, carpet, or in his own clothes, 
as best you can to extinguish the fire. Pour on plenty of water till 
the half-burned clothing is cooled. Then carry the sufferer to a warm 



TILL THE DOCTOR COMES. 239 

room, lay him on a table or a carpeted floor, and with a sharp knife or 
scissors remove his clothing. 

The treatment of a burn consists in protecting from the air* An 
excellent remedy is to apply soft cloths kept wet with sweet oil, or 
cold water which contains all the " cooking soda " that it will dissolve. 
Afterward dress the wound with carbolic acid salve. Wrap a dry 
bandage upon the outside. Then remove the patient to a bed and 
warmly cover.f Apply cold water to a small burn till the smart 
ceases, and then cover with ointment. Do not remove the dressings 
until they become stiff and irritating ; then take them from a part at a 
time ; dress and cover again quickly. 

Cuts, Wounds, etc. — The method of stopping the bleeding has 
been described on page 126. If an artery is severed, a physician 
should be called at once. If the bleeding is not profuse, apply cold 
water until it ceases, dry the skin, draw the edges of the wound to- 
gether, and secure them by strips of adhesive plaster. Protect with 
an outer bandage. This dressing should remain for several days. In 
the meantime wet it frequently with cold water to subdue inflamma- 
tion. When suppuration begins, wash occasionally with tepid water 
and Castile soap. 

Dr. Woodbridge, of New York, in a recent address, gave the follow- 
ing directions as to " What to do in case of a sudden wound when the 
surgeon is not at hand." "An experienced person would naturally 
close the lips of the wound as quickly as possible, and apply a band- 
age. If the wound is bleeding freely, but no artery is spouting blood, 
the first thing to be done is to wash it with water at an ordinary tem- 
perature. To every pint of water add either five grains of corrosive 
sublimate, or two and a half teaspoonfuls of carbolic acid. If the acid 
is used, add two table-spoonfuls of glycerine, to prevent its irritating 
the wound. If there is neither of these articles in the house, add four 
table-spoonfuls of borax to the water. Wash the wound, close it, and 
apply a compress of a folded square of cotton or linen. Wet it in the 

* It is a great mistake to suppose that salves will " draw out the fire " of a bum, 
or heal a bruise or cut. The vital force must unite the divided tissue hy the deposit 
of material, and the formation of new cells. 

t If a burn be near a joint or on the face, even if small, let a doctor see it, and do 
not be in any hurry about having it healed. Remember that with all the care and 
skill which can be used, contractions will sometimes take place. The danger to life 
from a bum or scald is not in proportion to its severity, but to its extent- that is, a 
small part, such as a hand or a foot or a face, may be burned so deeply as to cripple it 
for life, and yet not much endanger the general health; but a slight amount of burn- 
ing, a mere scorching, over two-thirds of the body, may prove iyAaX.—Hope. 



240 WHAT TO DO 

solution used for washing the wound, and bandage down quickly and 
firmly. If the bleeding is profuse, a sponge dipped in very hot water 
and wrung out in a dry cloth should be applied as quickly as possible. 
If this is not available, use ice, or cloths wrung out in ice water. If a 
large vein or artery is spouting, it must be stopped at once by com- 
pression. This may be done by a rubber tube wound around the arm 
tightly above the elbow or above the knee, where the pulse is felt to 
beat ; or an improvised ' tourniquet ' may be used. A hard apple or 
a stone is placed in a folded handkerchief, and rolled firmly in place. 
This bandage is applied so that the hard object rests on the point 
where the artery beats, and is then tied loosely around the arm. A 
stick is thrust through the loose bandage and turned till the flow of 
blood ceases." 

Bleeding from the Nose is rarely dangerous, and often beneficial. 
When it becomes necessary to stop it, sit upright and compress the 
nostrils between the thumb and forefinger, or with the thumb press 
upward upon the upper lip. A piece of ice, a snow-ball, or a com- 
press wet with cold water may be applied to the back of the neck. 

A Sprain is often more painful and dangerous than a dislocation. 
Wrap the injured part in flannels wrung out of hot water, and cover , 
with a dry bandage, or, better, with oiled silk. Liniments and stimu- 
lating applications are injurious in the first stages, but useful when 
the inflammation is subdued. Do not let the limb hang down. It must 
be kept quiet, even after all pain has ceased. If used too quickly, 
dangerous consequences may ensue. 

Diarrhea, Cholera Infantum, etc., are often caused by eating 

indigestible food or by checking of the perspiration ; but more fre- 
quently by peculiar conditions of the atmosphere, especially in large 
cities. If the limbs are cold, give a hot bath, and rub thoroughly. 
If possible, go to bed and lie quietly on the back. Rest is better than medi- 
cine. If there be pain, apply repeatedly to the abdomen flannels 
wrung out of hot water. If medicine is needed, take fifteen drops of 
peppermint and thirty of paregoric in a wine-glass of warm water; or 
an adult may take twenty drops of spirits of camphor and thirty to 
forty drops of laudanum. Laudanum should rarely be given to an 
infant, except by a physician's order. Eat no fruit, vegetables, pastry, 
or pork. If much thirst exist, give small pieces of ice, or cold tea or 
toast-water. 

Croup. — Send at once for a doctor. Induce vomiting by syrup of 
ipecac or mustard and water. Put the feet in a hot bath. Apply hot 
fomentations rapidly renewed to the chest and throat. 



TILL THE DOCTOR COMES. 241 

Sore Throat. — Wrap the neck in a wet bandage, and cover with 
red flannel or a woolen stocking. Gargle the throat frequently with 
a solution of a tea-spoonful of salt in a pint of water, or thirty grains 
of chlorate of potash in a wine-glass of water. 

Fits, Apoplexy, Epilepsy, etc.— Loosen the clothing, and raise 
the head and shoulders, but do not bend the head forward on the 
neck. Apply cold to the head, and heat to the feet. Follow with an 
emetic. In a child, a full hot bath is excellent. When there are con- 
vulsions, prevent the patient from injuring himself; especially put 
something in his mouth to keep him from biting his tongue. 

Toothache and Earache.— Insert in the hollow tooth, or in the 
ear, cotton wet with laudanum, spirits of camphor, or chloroform. 
When the nerve is exposed, wet it with creosote or carbolic acid. 
Hot cloths or a hot brick wrapped in cloth and held to the face will 
often relieve the toothache. In a similar manner treat the ear, wetting 
the cloth in hot water, and letting the vapor pass into the ear. 

Choking.— Ordinarily a smart blow between the shoulders, causing 
a compression of the chest and a sudden expulsion of the air from the 
lungs, will throw out the substance. If the person can swallow, and 
the object be small, give plenty of bread or potato, and water to wash 
it down. Press upon the tongue with a spoon, when, perhaps, you 
may see the offending bod}', and draw it out with a blunt pair of scis- 
sors. If neither of these remedies avail, give an emetic of syrup of 
ipecac or mustard and warm water. 

Frost Bites are frequently so sudden that one is not aware when 
they occur. In Canada it is not uncommon for persons meeting in 
the street to say, " Mind, sir, your nose looks whitish." The blood 
cools and runs slowly, and the blood-vessels become choked and 
swollen. Keep from the heat. Rub the part quickly with snow, if 
necessary for hours, till the natural color is restored. If one is 
benumbed with cold, take him into a cold room, remove the wet 
clothes, rub the body dry, cover with blankets, and give a little warm 
tea or weak brandy and water. On recovering, let him be brought to 
a fire gradually."'^ 

Fevers, and many acute diseases, are often preceded by a loss of 
appetite, headache, shivering, "pains in the bones," indisposition to 

* If you are caught in a snow-storm, look for a snow-bank in the lee of a hill, or 
a wood out of the wind, or a hollow in the plain filled with snow. Scrape out a 
hole big enough to creep into, and the drifting snow will keep you warm. Men and 
animals have been preserved after days of such imprisonment. Remember that if 
you give way to sleep in the open field, you will never awake. 



242 WHAT TO DO ' 

work, etc. In such cases, sponge with tepid water, and rub the body 
till all aglow. Go to bed, place hot bricks to the feet, take nothing 
but a little gruel or beef tea, and drink moderately of warm, cream-of- 
tartar water. If you do not feel better the next morning, call a phy- 
sician. If that be impossible, take a dose of castor-oil or Epsom salt. 

Sun-stroke is a sudden prostration caused by intense heat. The 
same effect is produced by the burning rays of the sun and the fierce 
fire of a furnace. When a person falls under such circumstances, 
place your hand on his chest. If the skin be cool and moist, it is not 
a sun-stroke ; but if it be dry and " biting hot," there can be no mis- 
take. Time is now precious. At once csLiry the sufferer to the nearest 
pump or hydrant, and dash cold water on the head and chest until 
consciousness is restored. — Dr. H. C. Wood. 

To prevent sun-stroke, wear a porous hat. and in the top of it place 
a wet handkerchief ; also drink freely of water, not ice cold, to induce 
abundant perspiration. 

Asphyxia, or apparent death, whether produced by drowning, suf- 
focation, bad air, or coal gas, requires very similar treatment. Send 
at once for blankets, dry clothing, and a physician. Treat the sufferer 
upon the spot, if the weather be not too unfavorable. 

1. Loosen the clothing about the neck and chest. 

2. Turn the patient on his face, open the mouth, draw out the 
tongue, and cleanse the nostrils, so as to clear the air-passages. 

3. Place the patient on his back, grasp his arms firmly above the 
elbows, and pull them gently upward until they meet over the head, in 
order to draw air into the lungs. Then bring the arms back by the side, 
to expel the air. Repeat the process about fifteen times per minute. 
Alternate pressure upon the chest, and blowing air into the mouth 
through a quill or with a pair of bellows, may aid your efforts. Excite 
the nostrils with snuff or smelling salts, or by passing hartshorn under 
the nose. Do not cease effort w^hile there is hope. Life has been 
restored after five hours of suspended animation. 

4. When respiration is established, wrap the patient in dry, warm 
clothes, and rub the limbs under the blankets or over the dry clothing 
energetically toward the heart. Apply heated flannels, bottles of hot 
water, etc., to the limbs, and mustard plasters* to the chest. 

Foreign Bodies in the Ear. — Insects may be killed by dropping 
a little sweet oil into the ear. Beans, peas, matches, etc., may gener- 

* The best mustard poultice is the paper plaster now sold by every druggist. It 
is always read}^ and can be carried by a traveler. It has only to be dipped in 
water, and applied at once. 



TILL THE DOCTOR COMES. 343 

ally be removed by cautiously syringing the ear out with tepid water. 
Do not use much force lest the tympanum be injured. If this fail, dry 
the ear, stick the end of a little linen swab into thick glue, let the 
patient lie on one side, put this into the ear until it touches the sub- 
stance, keep it there three-quarters of an hour while it hardens, and 
then draw them all out together. Be careful that the glue does not touch 
the skin at any point, and that you are at work upon the right ear. 
Children often deceive one as to the ear which is aifected. 

Foreign Bodies in the Nose, such as beans, cherry-pits, etc., 
may be frequently removed by closing the opposite nostril, and then 
blowing into the child's mouth forcibly. The air, unable to escape 
except through the other nostril, will sweep the obstruction before it. 



244 ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. 

ANTIDOTES TO POISONS. 

Acids '■ Nitric (aqua fortis), hydrochloric (muriatic), sulphuric (oil of 
vitriol), oxalic, etc. — Drink a little water to weaken the acid, or, still 
better, take strong soap-suds. Stir some magnesia in water, and 
drink freely. If the magnesia be not at hand, use chalk, soda, lime, 
whiting, soap, or even knock a piece of plaster from the wall, and 
scraping off the white outside coat pound it fine, mix with milk or 
water, and drink at once. Follow with warm ^vater, or flax-seed tea. 

Alkalies : Potash, soda, ley, ammonia (hartshornX — Drink weak vin- 
egar or lemon juice. Follow with castor or linseed oil, or thick 
cream. 

Antimony : Antimonial Wine, tartar emetic, etc. — Drink strong, 
green tea, and in the mean time chew the dry leaves. The direct anti- 
dote is a solution of nut-gall or oak-bark. 

Arsenic : Cobalt, Scheele's green, Jly-powder, ratsbane, etc. — G'lVQ plenty 
of milk, whites of eggs, or induce vomiting by mustard and warm 
water, or even soap-suds. 

Bite of a Snake or a Mad Dog*. —Tie a bandage above the 
wound, if on a limb. Wash the bite thoroughly, and, if possible, let the 
person suck it strongly. Rub some lunar caustic or potash in the 
wound, or heat the point of a small poker or a steel-sharpener white 
hot, and press it into the bite, for a moment. It will scarcely cause 
pain, and will be effectual in arresting the absorption of the poison, 
unless a vein has been struck. 

Copper : Sulphate of copper (blue vitriol), acetate of copper (verdigris). 
— Take whites of eggs or soda. Use milk freely. 

Laudanum : Opium, paregoric, soothing cordial, soothing syrup, etc. — 
Give an emetic at once of syrup of ipecac, or mustard and warm 
water, etc. After vomiting, use strong coffee freely. Keep the patient 
awake by pinching, pulling the hair, walking about, dashing water in 
the face, and any expedient possible. 

Lead: White lead, acetate of lead {sug2ir of lead), red lead. Give an 
emetic of syrup of ipecac, or mustard and warm water, or salt and 
water. Follow with a dose of Epsom salt. 

Matches : Phosphortis. — Give magnesia, chalk, whiting, or even 
flour in water, and follow with mucilaginous drinks. 

Mercury • Calojnel, chloride of mercziry (corrosive sublimate, bug 
poison), red precipitate. — Drink milk copiously. Take the whites of 
eggs, or even stir flour in water, and use freely. 



ANTIDOTES. 245 

Nitrate of Silver (lunar caustic). — Give salt and water, and follow 
with castor-oil. 

Nitrate of Potash (salpetre, nitre). — Give mustard and warm 
water, or syrup of ipecac. Follow with flour and water, and cream or 
sweet oil. 

Prussic Acid (oil of bitter almonds), cyanide of potassium. — Take a 
tea-spoonful of hartshorn in a pint of water. Apply smelling salts 
to the nose, and dash cold water in the face. 

Sting of an Insect. — Apply a little hartshorn or spirits of cam- 
phor, or soda moistened with water, or a paste of clean earth and 
saliva. 

Sulphate of Iron (green vitriol). — Give syrup of ipecac, or mus- 
tard and warm water, or any convenient emetic; then magnesia and 
water. 



QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 



The questions include the notes. The Jigti7'es refer to the pages. 



INTRODUCTION 

Illustrate the value of physiological knowledge. Why should 
physiology be studied in youth? When are our habits formed? How 
do habits help us? Why should children prize the lessons of expe- 
rience. How does Nature punish a violation of her laws? Name 
some of Nature's laws. What is the penalty of their violation? Name 
some bad habits and their punishments. Some good habits and their 
rewards. How do the young ruin their health? Compare one's con- 
stitution with a deposit in the bank. Can one in youth lay up health 
as he can money for middle or old age ? (See Conchcsion.) Is not the 
preservation of one's health a moral duty? What is suicide ? 



THE SKELETON. 

How many bones are there in the body? Is the number fixed? 
Is the length of the different bones proportional ? What is an organ? 
A function ? Name the three uses of the bones. Why do the bones 
have such different shapes? Why are certain bones hollow? Round? 
Illustrate. 

6. W^hat is the composition of bone? How does it vary? How 
can you remove the mineral matter? The animal matter? Why 
is a burned bone white and porous? What is the use of each of the 
constituents of a bone? What food do dogs find in bones? What is 
" bone black " ? 

7. What is ossification ? Why are not the bones of children as 



THE SKELETON. 247 

easily broken as those of aged persons? Why do they unite so much 
quicker? What are the fontanelles ? Describe the structure of a bone. 

8. What is the object of the filling? Why does the amount vary in 
different parts of a bone? What is the appearance of a bone seen 
through a microscope? What is the periosteum? Is a bone once 
removed ever restored? 

9. What are the lacunae? The Haversian canals? Why so called? 
Ans. From their discoverer, Havers. Define a bone.* What occupies 
the lacunae? y^;/j-. The bone-cells (osteoblasts). How do bones grow? 
Illustrate. How does a broken bone heal ? How rapidly is bone 
produced ? Illustrate. 

10. Objects of " splints " ? Describe how a joint is packed. Lubri- 
cated. How are the bones tied together? What is a tissue ? Illus- 
trate. 

11. Name the three general divisions of the bones. What is the 
object of the skull ? Which bone is movable? How is the lower jaw 
hinged ? 

12. Describe the construction of the skull. What is a suture? Tell 
how the peculiar form and structure of the skull adapt it for its use. 
Illustrate the impenetrability of the skull. Describe the experiment 
of the balls. What does it show ? 

13. What two cavities are in the trunk ? Name its principal bones. 
Describe the spine. What is the object of the processes? Of the 
pads ? Why is a man shorter at night than in the morning ? 

14. Describe the perfection of the spine. The articulation of the 
skull with the spine. Why is the atlas so called? 

15. Describe the ribs. What is the natural form of the chest ? Why 
is the thorax or chest made in separate pieces? How does the oblique 
position of the ribs aid in respiration ? (See note, p. 80.) 

16. How do the hip-bones give solidity? What two sets of limbs 
branch from the trunk ? State their mutual resemblance. 

17. Name the bones of the shoulder. Describe the collar-bone. 
The shoulder-blade. Can you describe the indirect articulation of the 
shoulder-blade with the trunk ? Name the bones of the arm. Describe 
the shoulder-joint. 

18. The elbow joint. The wrist. 

ig. Name the bones of the hand. The fingers. Describe their 

* Bone structure may be summarized as follows : A bone is a collection of 
Haversian elements or rods. An Haversian element consists of a tube surrounded 
by lamellix, which contain lacunce, connected by canalicidi.—Dr. T. B, Stowcil, 



248 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

articulations. What gives the thumb its freedom of motion? In 
what lies the perfection of the hand ? 

20. Describe the hip-joint. What gives the upper limbs more free- 
dom of motion than the lower? How does the pressure of the air aid 
us in walking? Illustrate. How do the gestures of the hand enforce 
our ideas and feelings ? 

21. Name the bones of the lower limbs. Describe the knee-joint. 
The patella. What is the use of the fibula? Can you show how the 
lower extremity of the fibula, below its juncture with the tibia, is pro- 
longed to form a part of the ankle-joint? Name the bones of the foot. 
What is the use of the arch of the foot? What makes the step elastic ? 

22. Describe the action of the foot as we step. In graceful walking 
should the toes or the heel touch the ground first ? What are the 
causes of deformed feet? What is the natural position of the big toe? 
Did you ever see a big toe lying in a straight line with the foot, as 
shown in statuary and paintings? How should we have our boots 
and shoes made? What are the effects of high heels? Of narrow 
heels? Of narrow toes ? Of tight-laced boots? Of thin soles? What 
are the rickets? Cause of this disease? Cure? 

23-24. Causes of spinal curvature ? Cure ? What is a felon ? 
Cure ? Cause of bow-legs ? Cure ? Is there any provision for reme- 
dying defects in the body ? Name one. What is the correct position 
in sitting at one's desk ? Is there any necessity for walking and sit- 
ting erect? Describe the bad effects of a stooping position. What is 
a sprain? Why does it need special care? What is a dislocation^ 



THE MUSCLES. 

29. What is the use of the skeleton ? How is it concealed ? Why 
is it the image of death? What are the muscles? How many are 
there? What peculiar property have they? Name other properties 
of muscles. Ans. Tonicity, elasticity. 

30. How are they arranged ? Where is the biceps ? The triceps ? 
How do the muscles move the limbs? Illustrate. What is the cause 
of squinting? Cure? (See p. 226.) Name and define the two kinds 
of muscles. Illustrate each. ' 

31. What is the structure of a muscle? Of what is a fibril itself 



THE MUSCLES. 249 

composed ? How does the peculiar construction of the muscle confer 
strength ? 

32. Describe the tendons. What is their use? Illustrate the 
advantages of this mode of attachment. 

33. What two special arrangements of the tendons in the hand ? 
Their use ? How is the rotary motion of the eye obtained ? 

34. What is a lever? Describe the three classes of levers. Illus- 
trate each. Describe the head as a lever. What parts of the body 
illustrate the three kinds of levers? 

35. Give an illustration of the second class of levers. The third 
class. Why is the Tendon of Achilles so named ? What is the ad- 
vantage of the third class of levers? Why used in the hand? What 
class of lever is the lower jaw? 

36. What advantages are gained by the enlargement of the bones at 
the joints? Illustrate. How do we stand erect? Is it an involuntary 
act? Why cannot a child walk at once, as many young animals do ? 

37. Why can we not hold up the head easily when we walk on " all 
fours"? Why cannot an animal stand erect as man does? Describe 
the process of walking. Show that walking is a process of falling. 

38. Describe the process of running. What causes the swinging of 
the hand in walking? Why are we shorter when walking?* Why 
does a person when lost often go in a circle? In which direction does 
one always turn in that case ? f 

39. What is the muscular sense? Its value? Value of exercise ? 

40. Is there any danger of violent exercise? For what purpose 
should we exercise? Should exercise be in the open air? What is 
the rule for exercise? Is a young person excusable, who leads a 
sedentary life, and yet takes no daily out-door exercise ? What will 
be nature's penalty for such a violation of her law? Will a postpone- 
ment of the penalty show that we have escaped it? Ought a scholar 
to study during the time of recess? Will a promenade in the vitiated 
air of the school-room furnish suitable exercise ? What is the best 
time for taking exercise ? 

* Stand a boy erect against a wall. Mark his height with a stick. Now have 
him step off a part of a pace, and then several whole paces. Next, let him close his 
eyes, and walk to the wall again. He will be perceptibly lower than the stick, until 
he straightens up once more from a walking position. 

t Take several boys into a smooth grass lot. Set up a stick at a distance for 
them to walk toward. Test the boys, to find which are left-handed, or right-handed ; 
which left-legged or right-legged. Then blindfold the boys and let them walk, as 
they think, toward the mark. See who varies toward the right, and who turns to 
the left. 



250 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

41 , Who can exercise before breakfast ? What are the advantages 
of the different kinds of exercise ? Should we not walk more? What 
is the general influence upon the bod}- of vigorous exercise ? 

42-3. State some of the wonders of the muscles. What is the St. 
Vitus's dance? Cure? What is the locked-jaw? Causes? The 
gout? Cause? Cure? The rheumatism ? Its two forms? 

44-5. Peculiarity of the acute? Danger? Is there any particular 
mode of treating it ? What is the lumbago ? Give instances. What 
is a ganglion ? Its cure ? A bursa ? 



THE SKIN. 

49. What are the uses of the skin ? Describe its adaptation to its 
place. What is its function as an organ? Describe the structure of 
the skin. The sensitiveness of the cutis. The insensitiveness of the 
cuticle. 

50. How is the skin constantly changing? The shape and number 
of the cells? Value of the cuticle? How is the cuticle formed? 
Ans. By secretion from the cutis. 

51. What is the complexion? Its cause? Why is a scar white? 
What is the cause of "tanning"? What are freckles? Albinos? 
Describe the action of the sun on the skin. Why are the hairs and 
the nails spoken of under the head of the skin ? 

52. Uses of the hair? Its structure? What is the hair-bulb? What 
is it called? How does a hair grow? When can it be restored, if 
destroyed ? What is the danger of hair-dyes ? Are they of any real 
value ? 

53. How can the hair stand on end? How do horses move their 
skin? Is there any feeling in a hair? Illustrate the indestructibility 
of the hair. 

54. What are the uses of the nails? How do the nails grow? 
What is the mucous membrane? Its composition ? 

55. The connective tissue ? Why so called ? What use does it sub- 
serve ? What is its character? 

56. How does the fat exist in the body? Its uses? State the 
various uses of membrane in the body. Where is there no fat? Why 
are the teeth spoken of in connection with the mucous membrane? 
Name and describe the four kinds of teeth. 



RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 251 

57. What are the milk teeth? Describe them. What teeth appear 
first? When do the permanent teeth appear? Describe their 
grovvtho Which one comes first ? Last ? 

58. Describe the structure of the teeth. 

59. How are the teeth fitted in the jaw? Why do the teeth decay? 
What care should be taken of the teeth? What caution should be 
observed ? 

60. What are the oil glands ? Use of this secretion ? What are the 
perspiratory glands ? Slate their number. Their total length. 

61. What are the "pores" of the skin? What is the perspiration? 
What is the constitution of the perspiration? Illustrate its value. 
Name the three uses of the skin. 

62. Illustrate the absorbing power of the skin. Why are cosmetics 
and hair-dyes injurious? What relation exists between the skin and 
the lungs? When is the best time for a bath ? Why? 

63. Value of friction? Should a bath be taken just before or after a 
meal? Is soap beneficial? What is the "reaction"? Explain its 
invigorating influence. How is it secured ? 

64. General effect of a cold bath ? Of a warm bath ? If we feel 
chilly and depressed after a bath, what is the teaching? Describe the 
Russian vapor bath. Why is the sea-bath so stimulating? How long 
should one remain in any bath? 

65. How does clothing keep us warm ? Explain the use of linen as 
an article of clothing. Cotton. Woolen. Flannel. How can we 
best protect ourselves against the changes of our climate ? 

66. What colored clothing is best adapted for all seasons? Value 
of the nap? Furs? Thick vs. thin clothing? Should we wear thick 
clothing during the day, and in the evening put on thin clothing ? 
Can children endure exposure better than grown persons ? What is 
the erysipelas? How relieved ? 

67. Dropsy ? Corns? Cause? Cure? In-growing nails ? Cure? 
Warts ? Cure ? 

68. Chilblain ? Cause ? Preventive ? Wens ? Cure ? 



RESPIRATION AND THE VOICE. 

73. Name the organs of respiration and the voice. Describe the 
larynx. The epiglottis. The oesophagus. What is meant by food 
" going the wrong way " ? 



252 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

74. Describe the vocal cords. Their use. How is sound pro- 
duced ? 

75. How are the higher tones of the voice produced? The lower? 
Upon what does loudness depend ? A falsetto voice ? What is the 
cause of the voice " changing " ? 

76. What is speech ? Vocalization ? Could a person talk without 
his tongue ? Illustrate. How are talking-machines made ? 

77. How is a formed by the voice? What is h ? Difference between 
a sigh and a groan ? What vowel sounds are made in laughing ? 
Does whistling depend on the voice? Tell how the various conso- 
nants are formed. What are the labials? The dentals? The lin- 
guals ? What vowels does a child pronounce first ? 

78. Describe the wind-pipe. The bronchi. The bronchial tubes. 
Why is the trachea so called ? 

79. Describe the structure of the lungs. What are the lungs of 
slaughtered animals called? Why will a piece of the lungs float on 
water? Name the wrappings of the lungs. Describe the pleura. 
How is friction prevented ? What are the cilia? What is their use ? 

80. What two acts constitute respiration? In what two ways may 
the position of the ribs change the capacity of the chest ? Describe 
the process of respiration. Expiration. How often do we breathe? 
Describe the diaphragm. 

81. What is sighing? Coughing? Sneezing? Snoring? Laugh- 
ing? Crying? Hiccough? Yawning? Its value? 

82. What is meant by the breathing capacity? How does it vary? 
How much, in addition, can the lungs expel forcibly? How much of 
the breathing capacity is available only through practice? Value of 
this extra supply? Can we expel all the air from our lungs? Value 
of this constant supply? 

83. How constant is the need of air? What is the vital element of 
the air? Describe the action of the oxygen in our lungs. What does 
the blood give up? Gain? How can this be tested? What are the 
constituents of the air? What are the peculiar properties and uses of 
each? What is the condition of the air we exhale? Which is the 
most dangerous constituent? Describe the evil effects of re-breathing 
the air. 

84. For what is the " Black Hole of Calcutta" noted? Give other 
illustrations of the dangers of bad air. What is meant by the germs 
of disease floating in the air? 

85-93. Describe the need of ventilation. Will a single breath pol- 



THE CIRCULATION. 253 

lute the air? What is the influence of a fire or a light? Of a hot 
stove? When is the ventilation perfect? What diseases are largely 
owing to bad air? Should the windows and doors be tightly closed, 
if we have no other means of ventilation? Is not a draught of air 
dangerous? How can we prevent this, and yet secure fresh air? 
What is the general principle of ventilation ? Must pure air neces- 
sarily be cold air? Are school-rooms properly ventilated ? What is 
the effect? Are churches? Are our bed-rooms? Can we, at night, 
breathe anything but night air? Is the night air out-of-doors ever 
injurious? A^is. It is, in times and places of malaria, and also in 
very damp weather, and should be avoided, even at the risk of bad air 
in-doors. 

93. Describe some of the wonders of respiration. How is constric- 
tion of the lungs produced ? 

94. When may clothing be considered tight ? What are the dangers 
of tight-lacing ? Which would make the stronger, more vigorous, and 
longer-lived person, the form shown in A or B, Fig. 33 ? Is it safe to 
run any risk in this dangerous direction? 

95. What is the bronchitis? Pleurisy? Pneumonia? Consump- 
tion ? What is one great cause of this disease ? How may a consti- 
tutional tendency to this disease be warded off in youth? Ans. Be- 
sides plenty of fresh air and exercise, care should be taken in the diet. 
Rich pastry, unripe fruit, salted meat, and acid drinks should be 
avoided, and a certain quantity of fat should be eaten at each meal. — 
Bennett. What is asphyxia? Describe the process for restoring such 
a person. {See Appendix.) What is the diphtheria? Its peculiarity? 
Danger ? 

96. The croup? Its characteristics? Remedy? (See Appendix.) 
Causes of stammering ? How cured ? 



THE CIRCULATION. 

103. Name the organs of the circulation. Does the blood per- 
meate all parts of the t)ody ? What is the average amount in each 
person? Its composition? The plasma? The red corpuscles ? The 
white ? 

104. What is the size of a red cell ? Are the shape and size uni- 
form ? Value of this ? Illustrate. Are the disks permanent? 



254 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

105. What substances are contained in the plasma? What is fibrin ? 
In what sense is the blood " liquid flesh " ? What is the use of the 
red disks ? What is the office of the oxygen in the body ? Where is 
the blood purified ? 

106. What is transfusion? Give some illustrations. Is it of value? 

107. What is the cause of coagulation of the blood ? Value of this 
property ? Has the fibrin any other use ? What organ propels the blood ? 

108. What is the location of the heart? How large is it? Put your 
hand over it. What is the pericardium ? 

109. Describe the systole. The diastole. How many chambers in 
the heart ? What is their average size ? What is meant by the right 
and the left heart ? 

no. What are the auricles? Why so called? The ventricles? 
What is the use of the auricles? The ventricles? Which are made 
the stronger ? Show the need of valves in the ventricles. Why are 
there no valves in the auricles ? Draw on the board the form of 
the valves. Name them. 

111. Despribe the tricuspid valve. The bicuspid. 

112. How are these valves strengthened? What peculiarity in the 
attachment of these cords ? Describe the semi-lunar valves. What 
are the arteries ? Why so named ? What is their use ? Their struc- 
ture ? How does their elasticity act? What is meant by a " collateral 
circulation " ? 

113. How are the arteries protected? Where are they located? 
Give a general description of the arterial system. What is the aorta? 
What is the pulse ? On which arteries can we best feel it ? What is 
the average number of beats per minute? How and why does this 
vary ? 

114. Why does a physician feel a patient's pulse? What are the 
veins? What blood do they carry? Describe the venous system. 
What vein does not lead toward the heart? 

115. Describe the valves of the veins. What valves of the heart do 
they resemble ? Where and how can we see the operation of these 
valves? What are the capillaries? What is the function of the capil- 
laries ? * What changes take place in this system ? What are vari- 
cose veins? 

* The distinctive function of the capillaries is to oflFer peripheral resistance to the 
circulation of the blood. This insures " blood pressure," a condition indispensable 
to the " heart beat," and also causes leakage (transudation). This leakage brings 
the nutriment in contact with the tissue cells, whereby they are renewed. In the 
same way the air passes from the blood to the cells. 



THE CIRCULATION. 255 

ii6. Describe the circulation of the blood as seen in the web of a 
frog's foot. In what two portions is the general circulation divided ? 
Who discovered the circulation of the blood ? How was the discovery 
received ? What remark did Harvey make ? What does that 
show ? 

117. Describe the route of the blood by the diagram ? i. The lesser 
circulation ; 2. The greater circulation. What is the velocity of the 
blood ? How long does it require for all the blood to pass through 
the heart? How has this been estimated? What is the shortest route 
the blood can take ? The longest ? How long does it take the blood 
to make the tour of the body ? How has this been estimated ? What 
is the average temperature of the body? How much does this vary 
in health? Ans. Not more than 2°, even in the greatest extremes of 
temperature. — Flint. 

119. How and where is the heat of the body generated ? How is it 
distributed ? In what diseases is the variation of temperature marked ? 
How is the temperature of the body regulated? 

120. In what way does life exist through death ? Is not this as true 
in the moral as in the physical world ? What does it teach ? How 
rapidly do our bodies change? What are the three vital organs ? 

I2T. Name some of the wonders of the heart. 

122-4, What is the lymphatic circulation? What is the thoracic 
duct? The lymph? The glands? What is the office of the lymphat- 
ics? What are the lacteals ? Give some illustrations of the action of 
the lymphatics of the different organs. Should we use care in select- 
ing wall-paper? What is meant by the sub-cutaneous insertion of 
morphine? How do hibernating animals live during the winter? 
What is a congestion? Its cause? Blushing? Why does terror 
cause one to grow cold and pale ? 

125. How is an inflammation caused ? Name its four characteristics. 
How may severe bleeding be stopped ? How can you tell whether the 
blood comes from an artery or a vein ? Why should you know this ? 

126-7. What is the scrofula? What are "kernels"? How may a 
scrofulous tendency of the system be counteracted ? What kinds of 
food stimulate this disease? What is the cause of "a cold"? Why 
does exposure sometimes cause a cold in the head, sometimes on the 
lungs, and at others brings on a rheumatic attack ? Why is a cold 
dangerous ? Ans. It weakens the system and paves the way for other 
diseases. What is the theory of treating a cold ? Describe the 
method. What is catarrh ? Cause ? 



256 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

128. Illustrate the general eflfect of alcohol upon the circulation. 
Upon the heart. Upon the membrane. Upon the blood. Upon the 
lungs. What is the active principle of all liquors ? 



DIGESTION AND FOOD. 

139. Why do we need food? Why will a person starve without 
food ? Are the current stories of people who live without food to be 
relied upon ? How much food is needed per day by an adult in 
active exercise ? How much in a year ? How does this amount 
vary? 

140. Describe the body as a mold. As an eddy. What does food 
do for us? What does food contain? How is this force set free? 
What force is this? How can it be turned into muscular motion, 
mental vigor, etc.? Do we then draw all our power from nature? 
What becomes of these forces when we are done with them ? Do we 
destroy the force we use ? Ans. No matter has been destroyed, so far 
as we know, since the creation, and force is equally indestructible. 

141. Compare our food to a tense spring. What three kinds of food 
do we need ? What is nitrogenous food ? Name the common forms. 
What is the characteristic of nitrogenous food ? Why called albumi- 
nous? 

142. What is carbonaceous food? Its two kinds? Constituents of 
sugar? Where are starch and gum ranked ? Why? Use of carbona- 
ceous food? What becomes of this heat ? Composition of fat? How 
does fat compare with sugar in producing heat? Name the other uses 
of carbonaceous food. From what kind of food does the body derive 
the greatest strength? 

143. Name the mineral matters which should be contained in our 
food. What do you say of the abundance and necessity of water ? 
Ought we not to exercise great care in selecting the water we drink ?* 

* Water which has passed through lead-pipes is apt to contain salts of that metal, 
and is therefore open to suspicion. Metallic-lmed ice-pitchers, galvanized -iron 
reservoirs, and many soda-water fountains, are liable to the same objection. There 
are also organic impurities in water equally dangerous. River-water often dissemi- 
nates the germs of typhoid fever and other diseases just as the air scatters the seeds 
of small-pox and scarlet fever. Thus the great outbreak of cholera in the east of 
London, in 1866, was traced to the contamination of the River Lea, which furnished 
the supply of water to that part of the city. The surface water frequently flows into 
a well carrying organic matter to poison its contents. Wells sometimes receive 
underground the drainage from grave-yards, manufactories, cess-pools, swamps, 
barn-yards, vaults, etc., all of which render the water unfit for use. 



DIGESTION AND FOOD. 257 

Will not the character of our food influence the quantity of water 
we need ? What are the uses of these different minerals ? Illustrate 
the importance of salt. 

144. Could a person live on one kind of food alone? Illustrate. 
Describe the effect of living on lean meat. Show the necessity of a 
mixed diet. Illustrate. Show the need of digestion. Illustrate. 

145. What is assimilation ? Describe the general plan of digestion. 
What did Berzelius call digestion? Why? What amount of liquid is 
daily secreted by the alimentary canal? 

146. What is the alimentar}^ canal? How is it lined ? How does 
the amseba digest its food ? The hydra? Define secretion. Describe 
the saliva. How is it secreted ? What is the amount ? 

147. Its organic principle ? Its use? How soon does it act? How 
long ? What tends to check or increase the flow of saliva? 

149. Describe the process of swallowing. The stomach, tts size. 
Its construction. What is the peristaltic movement? The pylorus? 
For what does this open ? What is the gastric juice ? How abundant 
is it? To what is its acidity due? 

150. What organic principle does it contain? Hov/ is its flow 
influenced? What is its use? Appearance of the food as it passes 
through the pylorus? How is pepsin prepared? Why is not the 
stomach itself digested ? What is the construction of the intestines ? 

151. How are the intestines divided? What is the duodenum? 
Why so called? What juices are secreted here? What is the bile? 
Describe the liver. What is its weight? Its construction? Ans. It 
consists of a mass of polyhedral cells only yj^ to -^-^q-q of an inch in 
diameter, filling a mesh of capillaries. The capillaries carry the blood 
to and fro, and the cells secrete the bile. What is the cyst? What 
does the liver secrete from the blood besides the bile? Is the bile 
necessary to life ? Illustrate. What is its use ? What is the pancre- 
atic juice? Its organic principle? Its use? 

152. Appearance of the food when it leaves the duodenum ? Describe 
the small intestine. 

153. What is absorption? In what two ways is the food absorbed? 
Where does the process commence? How long does it last? De- 
scribe the lacteals. Of what general system do they form a part? 
What do the veins absorb ? Where do they carry the food ? 

154. How is it modified? Describe the complexity of the process 
of digestion. What length of time required for digestion in the stom- 
ach? 



258 QUESTIONS FOE CLASS USE. 

155. May not food which requires little time in the stomach need 
more in the other organs, and vice versa/ Tell the stor\- of Alexis 
St. Martin. What time was required to digest an ordinary- meal ? 
Apples ? Eggs, raw and cooked ? Roast beef? Pork ? Which is the 
king of the meats? What is the nutritive value of mutton? Lamb? 
How should it be cooked ? Objection to pork ? What is the trichina ? 
Should ham ever be eaten raw ? 

156. Value of fish? Oysters? Milk? Cheese? Eggs? Bread? 
Brown bread? Are warm biscuit and bread healthful? Nutritive 
value of corn ? The potato ? Of ripe fruits? 

157. Of coffee? To what is its stimulating property due? Its 
influence on the S3-stem? AVhen should it be discarded? Should 
children use any stimulants? Effects of tea? Influence of strong 
tea? What is the active principle of tea ? 

158. Nutritive value of chocolate? What is its active principle? 
Story of Linnaeus ? How should tea be made? What is the effect of 
cooking food? What precaution in boiling meat? In roasting? 
Object of this high temperature? What precaution in making soup? 
Why is frying an unhealthful mode of cooking ? 

159. State the five evil results of rapid eating. What disease grows 
out of it ? If one is compelled to eat a meal rapidh', as at a railroad 
station, what should he take? Why? W^hy does a child need more 
food proportionately than an old person ? State the relation of waste 
to repair in youth, in middle, and in old age. What kind and quan- 
tity of food does a sedentar}- occupation require? What caution 
should students who have been accustomed to manual labor observe? 
Must a student star%-e himself? Is there not danger of over-eating? 
Would not an occasional abstinence from a meal be beneficial ? Do 
not most people eat more than is for their good? How should the 
season regulate our diet ? 

160. The climate ? Illustrate. What does a natural appetite indi- 
cate? How are we to judge between a natural and an artificial long- 
ing? What does the cra%ang of childhood for sugar indicate ?* AVbat 

* It does not follow from this, however, that the free use of sugar in its separate 
form is desirable. The ordinary articles of vegetable food contain sugar (or starch, 
which in the body is converted into sugar), in large proportion ; and there is good 
reason to believe that in its naturally-combined form it is both more easily digested, 
and more avaOable for the purposes of nufrition, than when crystallized. The ordi- 
nary sugar of commerce, moreover, derived from the sugar-cane, is not capable of 
being directly applied to physiological purposes. Cane-sugar is converted within 
the body into another kind of sugar, identical with that derived from the grape, before 
it can enter into the circuit of the vital changes. 



THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 259 

is the effect upon the circulation of taking food ? Should we labor or 
study just before or after a meal ? Why not ? What time should 
intervene between our meals? Is "lunching" a healthful practice? 
Eating just before retiring? 

i6i. Why should care be banished from the table ? Will a regular 
routine of food be beneficial? Describe some of the wonders of diges- 
tion. 

162-3. What are the principal causes of dyspepsia ? How may we 
avoid that disease? What are the mumps? What care should be 
taken? Is alcohol a food? Illustrate. Compare the action of alco- 
hol with that of water. Is all the alcohol taken into the stomach elim- 
inated unchanged? Does alcohol contain any element needed by the 
body? What is the effect of alcohol upon the digestion ? Will pepsin 
act in the presence of alcohol? What is the effect of alcohol upon 
the liver? What is "Fatty Degeneration"? What is the effect of 
alcohol upon the kidneys ? Does alcohol impart heat to the body 1 
Does it confer strength? What does Dr. Kane say? Describe Rich- 
ardson's experiments. Tell what peculiar influence alcohol exerts. 
What is alcoholism? What is heredity? 



THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 

177. What are the organs of the nervous system ? What is the 
general use of this system? How does it distinguish animals from 
plants? What are the vegetative functions? What is the gray mat- 
ter? Its use? The white matter ? Its use ? 

179. Describe the brain. What is its office? Its size? How does 
it vary? Illustrate. Name its two divisions. Describe the cerebrum. 

180. The convolutions. The membranes which bind the brain 
together. What do you say of the quantity of blood which goes to the 
brain ? What does it show ? What do the convolutions indicate ? 

181. What is the use of the two halves of the brain? What theories 
have been advanced concerning it ? What is the effect of removing 
the cerebrum ? 

182. Describe the cerebellum. What is the arbor vitae? What does 
this part of the brain control ? What is the effect of its being injured ? 
Illustrate. 



260 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

183. Describe the spinal cord. What is the medulla oblongata? 
Describe the nerves. Is each part of the body supplied with its own 
nerve ? Prove it. 

184-5. Name the three classes of nerves. What are the motory 
nerves? The sensory? When will motion be lost and feeling 
remain, and vice versa ? What is meant by a transfer of pain ? Illus- 
trate. What are the spinal nerves ? Describe the origin of the spinal 
nerve. What are the cranial nerves ? 

185-187. Describe the sympathetic sj^stem. What is its use? How 
does the brain control all the vital processes? What is meant by the 
crossing of the cords? 

188, What is the effect? What exception in the seventh pair of 
cranial nerves? What is reflex action ? Give illustrations. 

i8q. Give instances of the unconscious action of the brain. ^ Can 



* Dr. Carpenter, in the course of a recent lecture at Manchester, England, upon 
the '* Unconscious Action of the Brain," gave the following among other illustrations : 
I. We find that when we set off in the morning with the intention of going to our 
place of employment, not only do our legs move without our consciousness, if we 
are attending to something entirely different, but we guide ourselves in our walk 
through the streets ; we do not run up against anybody we meet ; we do not strike 
ourselves against the lamp-posts ; and we take the appropriate turns which are 
habitual to tfe. It has often happened to myself, and I dare say it has happened to 
every one of you, that you have intended to go somewhere else — that when you 
started you intended instead of going in the direct line to which you were daily 
accustomed, to go a little out of your way to perform some Httle commission ; but 
you have got into a train of thought and forgotten yourself, and you find that you 
are half-way along your accustomed track before you become aware of it. Now, there, 
you see, is the same automatic action of these sensory ganglia— we see. we hear— for 
instance, we hear the rumbling of the carriages, and we avoid them without thinking 
of it — our muscles act in respondence to these sights and sounds— and yet all this is 
done without our intentional direction— they do it for us. We arrive at a certain 
point where we are accustomed to stop, and afe surprised that we have reached it. 
You will ask me, perhaps, " What is the exciting cause of this succession of actions 
in walking ? " I believe it is the contact of the ground with the foot at each move- 
ment. We put down the foot, that suggests as it were to the spinal cord the next 
movement of the leg in advance, and that foot comes down in its turn ; and so we 
follow with this regular rhythmical succession of movements. It is all done through 
the reflex action of the spinal cord. 

2. The cerebellum has its unconscious action in the processes of respiration, the 
involuntary movements which are made in response to the senses, as in winking, 
starting back at a sound, etc. 

3. The cerebrum acts automatically in cases familiar to all. A large part of our 
mental activity consists of this unconscious work of the brain. There are many 
cases in which the mind has obviously worked more clearly and more successfully 
in this automatic condition, when left entirely to itself, than when we have been 
cudgeling our brains, so to speak, to get the solution. An instance was put on record 
by a gentleman well known in London, the Rev. John De Liefde, a Dutch clergy- 
man, who gave it on the authority of a fellow-student who had been at the college 



THE NERVOUS SYSTEM. 261 

there be feeling or motion in the lower limbs when the spinal cord is 
destroyed? What does the story told by Dr. John Hunter show? 
Give illustrations of the independent action of the spinal cord in 
animals. What are the uses of reflex action ? 

190. State its value in the formation of habits. How does the brain 
grow ? What laws govern it ? What must be the effect of constant 
light-reading? Of over-study or mental labor ? 

191. State the relation of sleep to repair and waste. How many 
hours does each person need ? What kind of work requires most 
sleep ? 

192. What is the influence of sunlight on the body ? Illustrate. 
Name some of the wonders of the brain. 

193-8. What four stages are there in the effect of alcohol on the 
nervous system ? Describe each. Does alcohol confer any permanent 
strength? What is the physiological effect of alcohol on the brain? 
On the mental and moral powers? What is the Delirium Tremens? 

198. What are the principal constituents of tobacco ? Should a man 
be punished for a crime he commits while drunk ? 

199. What are the physiological effects of tobacco ? 

200. Who are most likely to escape injury? 

201. Is tobacco a food? What is its influence upon youth? Why 
are cigarettes specially injurious? What effect does tobacco have on 
the sensibilities? 

202. Name illustrations of the injurious effect of tobacco on young 
men. How is opium obtained ? What is its physiological effect ? 
Can one give up the use of opium when he pleases ? What is the 
harmful influence of chloral hydrate ? Of chloroform ? 

at which he studied in early life. He had been attending a class in mathematics, and 
the professor said to his students one day : " A question of great difficulty has been 
referred to me by a baaker— a very complicated question of accounts, which they 
have not themselves been able to bring to a satisfactory issue, and they have asked 
my assistance. I have been trying, and I cannot resolve it. I have covered whole 
sheets of paper with calculations, and have not been able to make it out. Will you 
try?" He gave it to them as a sort of problem, and said he should be extremely 
obliged to any one who would bring him the solution by a certain day. This gentle- 
man tried it over and over again ; he covered manj^ slates with figures, but could 
not succeed in resolving it. He was " put on his mettle," and determined to achieve 
the result. But he went to bed on the night before the solution was to be given in, 
without having succeeded. In the morning, when he went to his desk, he found the 
whole problem worked out in his own hand. He was perfectly satisfied that it was 
his own hand ; and this was a very curious part of it -that the result was correctly 
obtained by a process very much shorter than any he had tried. He had covered 
three or four sheets of paper in his attempts, and this was all worked out upon one 
page, and correctly worked, as the result proved. 



262 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 



THE SPECIAL SENSES. 

211. What is a sense? Name the five senses. To what organ do 
all the senses minister ? If the nerve leading to any organ of sense be 
cut, what would be the effect?* Sometimes persons lose feeling in a 
limb, but retain motion: why is this? What is the sense of touch 
sometimes called ? Describe the organ of touch. What are the 
papillae? Where are they most abundant? f What are the uses of 
this sense ? What special knowledge do we obtain by it ? Why do 
we always desire to handle anything curious? 

212. Can the sense of touch always be relied upon? Illustrate. 
What is the tactiis eruditiis ? Illustrate. Tell how one sense can take 
the place of anoiher. Give illustrations of the delicacy ol touch pos- 
sessed by the blind. 

213. Describe the sense of taste. How can you see the papillae of 
taste ? 

214. What causes the velvety look of the tongue ? Why do salt and 
bitter flavors induce vomiting? Why does an acid "pucker" the 
face ? What substances are tasteless ? Illustrate. Has sulphur any 
taste ? Chalk ? Sand ? What is the use of this sense ? Does it not 
also add to the pleasures of life ? Why are the acts of eating, drink- 
ing, etc., thus made sources of happiness ? Describe the organ of 
smell. State the intimate relation which exists between the senses of 
smell and taste. Name some common mistakes which occur in con- 
sequence. 

215. Must the object to be smelled touch the nose? What is the 
theory of smell ? How do you account for the statement made in the 
note concerning musk and ambergris? 

216. What are the uses of this sense ? Are agreeable odors health- 
ful, and disagreeable ones unhealthful ? Describe the organ of hear- 
ing. Describe the external ear. What is the tympanum or drum of 
the ear ? 

* Each organ is adapted to receive a peculiar kind of impression. Hence we 
cannot smell with the eyes nor see with the nose. So that if the nerve communicat- 
ing between the brain and any organ be destroyed, that means of knowledge is 
•cut oflF. 

t If we apply the points of a compass blunted with cork to diflferent parts of 
the body, we can distinguish the two points at one-twenty-fourth of an inch apart 
on the tongue, one-sixteenth of an inch on the lips, one-twelfth of an inch on the tips 
of the fingers, and one-half inch on the great toe ; while, if they are one inch on the 
cheek, and two inches on the back, they will scarcely produce a separate sensation. 
— Huxley. 



THE SPECIAL SENSES. 263 

217. Describe the middle ear. Name the bones of the ear. Describe 
their structure. Describe the internal ear. By what other name is it 
known ? What substances float in the liquid which fills the labyrinth? 
What is their use ? Describe the fibers of Corti. What do they form ? 
Use of this microscopic harp? 

218. Give the theory of sound. Where is the sound, in the external 
object or in the mind ? Can there be any sound, then, where there is 
no mind? What advice is given concerning the care of the ear? How 
can insects be removed ? Which sense would you rather lose, hearing 
or sight? Does not a blind person always excite more sympathy than 
a deaf one ? How does the sight assist the hearing?* 

219. Describe the eye. Name the three coats of which it is com- 
posed. Is it a perfect sphere ? ^^^j-. The cornea projects in front, and 
the optic nerve at the back sticks out like a handle, while the ball 
itself has its longest diameter from side to side. 

220. How is the interior divided? Object of the crystalline lens? 
How is the crystalline lens kept in place? Describe the liquids which 
fill the eye. What is the pupil ? Describe the eyelids. Why is the 
inner side of the eyelid so sensitive? What is the cause of a black 
eye? Use of the eyelashes? 

221. Where are the oil glands located? W^hat is their use? De- 
scribe the lachrymal gland. The lachrymal lake. What causes the 
overflow in old age? Explain the structure of the retina. Use of the 
rods and cones. What is the blind spot ? Illustrate. 

222-6. What is the theory of sight? Illustrate. State the action 
of the crystalline lens. Its power of adaptation. Cause of near- 
sightedness. How remedied? Cause of far-sightedness? How 
remedied ? Do children ever need spectacles ? What is the 
cataract? How cured? What care should be taken of the eyes? 
Should one constantly lean forward over his book or work ? What 

* In hearings the attention is more or less characteristic. If we wish to distin- 
guish a distant noise, or perceive a sound, the head inclines and turns in such a man- 
ner as to present the external ear in the direction of the sound, at the same time the 
eyes are fixed and partially closed. The movement of the lips of his interlocutor is 
the usual means by which the deaf man supplies the want of hearing ; the eyes and 
the entire head, from its position, having a peculiar and painful expression of atten- 
tion. In looking at the portrait of La Condamine, it was easily recognized as that 
of a deaf person. Even when hearing is perfect, the eyes act sometimes as 
auxiliaries to it. In order to understand an orator perfectly, it seems necessary to 
see him— the gestures and the expression of the face seeming to add to the clearness 
of the words. The lesson of a teacher cannot be well understood if any obstacle is 
interposed between hira and the eyes of the listening pupil. So that if a pupil's eyes 
wander, we know that he is not attentive.— fFiJw^^rj of the Human Body. 



264 QUESTIONS FOR CLASS USE. 

special care should near-sighted children take? By what carelessness 
may we impair our sight? Should we ever read or write at twilight? 
Danger of reading upon the cars? What course should we take when 
objects get into the eye? How may they be removed r* Are " eye- 
stones" useful? Why we should never use eye-washes except upon 
the advice of a competent physician? What care should be taken 
with regard to the direction of the light when we are at work ? 



CONCLUSION. 

State some of the benefits of health. Contrast it with sickness. 
How were diseases formerly supposed to be caused ? What remedies 
were used ? What does modern science teach us to be the nature 
of disease ? Give some illustrations showing how diseases may be 
prevented. Is it probable that the body was intended to give out in 
any one of its organs? What is the first step to be taken in the cure 
of a disease? What should be the object of medicine? What is now 
the chief dependence of the best physicians? What do you think 
concerning the common use of patent nostrums? Relate the story 
told of the remedy employed by the African medicine-man. Ought 
we not to use the greatest care in the selection of our physician, to 
secure the highest medical skill and cultivation ^ 



i 



J 



INDEX. 



Abdomen 79 

Absorbing power of skin 6i 

Absorption of food i53 

Achilles, Tendon of 36 

Adam's apple 73 

Air, Composition of 82 

'• Need of 82 

" Action of — 82 

Air-cells 78 

Albinos 51 

Albumen 141 

Albuminous bodies 141 

Alcohol 128, 163, 193 

" as a Narcotic 193 

" Cause of Degeneration 131 

" EflFect upon Blood 132 

'* u a Brain. 193 

" " " Circulation 128 

'• " " Digestion 166 

" '* " Heat of body... 168 

" " " Heart 130 

" " " Kidneys 167 

" " " Liver 167 

•' " " Lungs 133 

" HI' Membrane 132 

" •' '' Mental Powers. 194 

" " '' Muscle 169 

" " " Nervous System 193 

" " Waste 169 

Alcoholism 171 

Alimentary canal 146 

Amaeba 146 

Anatomy, Definition of Preface 

Ankle-joint 21 

Antidotes for poison Appendix 

Aorta ri3 

Apoplexy Appendix 



PAGE 

Aqueous humor 220 

Arachnoid membrane 179 

Areolar (connective) tissue 55 

Arteries 112 

Arterial blood 112 

Articulation 76 

Asphyxia Appendix 

Assimilation 145 

Atlas 14 

Auditory nerve 218 

Auricles of the heart 109 

Axis 14 

Back-bone 13 

Ball-and-socket-joint 20 

Bathing 62 

Beef 155 

Bicuspid teeth 57 

Bicuspid valve . m 

Bile 151, 154 

Black hole of Calcutta 84 

Bleeding, Checking of 125 

Blood, The . 103 

Blood-crystals 105 

Blushing 124 

Boils 68 

Bones, The 5 

Bow-legs 23 

Brain 179 

" Exercise 190 

Bread 156 

Breast-bone 15 

Breathing 80 

Bronchi 78 

Bronchitis 95 

Burns Appendix 

Bursa 45 



266 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Canal, Alimentary 146 

" Semi-circular 217 

" Haversian 9 

Canine teeth .*. 56 

Capillaries 115 

Carbonic acid 83 

Carbonaceous food 142 

Caipus 18 

Cartilage 10 

Casein 141 

Cataract 225 

Catarrh 127 

Cells of blood 104 

" " bram 177 

" " lungs 78 

Cell 162 

Cerebellum 182 

Cerebrum 179 

Change of our bodies 120 

Cheese > 156 

Chest 15 

Chilblain 68 

Chloral hydrate 204 

Chloroform 205 

Chocolate 158 

Choking Appendix 

Choroid „ 219 

Chyle 152 

Chyme 150 

Ciliary processes 220 

Cilia, The 79 

Circulation 116 

Clavicle 17 

Clothing 65 

Coagulation 107 

Coccyx 5 

Cochlea 217 

Coffee 157 

Cold, A 126 

Cold bath 63 

Collar-bone 17 

Complexion. The ' 51 

Congestion 124 

Connective tissue 55 

Consumption 95 



PAGE 

Cooking of food 158 

Cords, Vocal : . 75 

Cornea 219 

Com 156 

Corns 67 

Corpuscles ic4 

Cortian fibers 217 

Cosmetics 62 

Cotton 65 

Coughing 81 

Cranial nerves 185 

Croup 96 

Crying 81 

Crystalline lens - 220 

" " Adjustment of 224 

Curvature of the spine 23 

Cuticle, The 50 

Cutis, The 49 

Decay 120 

Degeneration 131 

Dentals, The 77 

Dentine 58 

Dermis 49 

Diaphragm 79i 80 

Diastole 108 

Diffusion of gases 85, 153 

Digestion 145 

Digits 16 

Diphtheria 95 

Diseases, etc 22, 42. (16^ 94, 124, 162 

Disinfectants Appendix 

Drinking-water . . 256 

Dropsy 67 

Drowning 242 

Duodenum 151 

Dura mater 179 

Dyspepsia 162 

Ear, The 216 

Eating, Regularity in i6o 

Eating, Rapid 158 

Eggs 155, 156 

Elbow-joint 18 

Enamel of teeth 58 



INDEX. 



267 



PAGE 

Epidermis 49 

Epiglottis 73 

Epilepsy Appendix 

Epithelium 152 

Erysipelas 66 

Ether 222 

Eustachian tube 218 

Exercise, Muscular 39 

' ' Brain 190 

Expiration 80 

E^-e, The 219 

" Adjustment of the 224 

" Muscles of the 33 

" Things in the 226 

Eyebrows 220 

Eyelids 220 

Eye-stones ... 227 

Eye-wash 227 

Face, Bones of u 

Face, Expression of 190 

Far-sight 224 

Fat-cells 56 

Fats, The 142 

Felon ^ 23 

Femur 20 

Fever 241 

Fibrin 104, 107 

Fibula ^ 21 

Fish 156 

Fits 241 

Flannel 65 

Fontanelles, The.. . 7 

Food, Absorption of 153 

" Cooking of 158 

" Digestion of 145 

" Kinds of 155 

" Need of 140 

" Quantity of 159 

Foot, The 21 

Frost-bite Appendix 

Fruits 156 

Furs 66 

Gall-bladder (cyst) 79) 151 



PAGE 

Ganglion, A 44 

" A nerve , 177 

Gaping 81 

Gastric-juice 149, 151 

Gelatin 55 

Glands, Gastric , 149 

" Lachrymal 221 

' ' Lymphatic 123 

" Parotid ...." 146 

'' Perspiratory 60 

'• Sebaceous 60 

" Sweat 60 

Glosso-pharyngeal nerve 187 

Glottis 74 

Glycogen 154 

Gout, The 43 

Gristle iq 

Habits 190 

Haemoglobin 106 

Hair, The 52 

Hair-dyes 62 

Hand, The 18 

Haversian canals 

Head n 

Hearing 216 

Heart 107 

Heat, Distribution of 118 

" Regulation of ng 

" Production of 119,142 

Heredity 171 

Hiccough" 81 

Hinge-joints 18 

Hip, The 20 

Hot bath 64 

Humerus 17 

Hygiene, Definition of Preface 

Hypoglossal nerve 187 

Incisor teeth 56 

Indian corn 156 

Inferior vena cava 109 

Inflammation 125 

In-growing nails 67 

Innominata .....^ i6 



368 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Inspiration 80 

Internal ear, The 217 

Intestines, The 151 

Involuntary muscles 30 

Iris, The 220 

Iron 143 

Joints 10 

Juice, Gastric 149, 151 

" Intestinal 151 

" Pancreatic 151 

Knee-cap, The 36 

" joint, The 36 

Labials, The 77 

Labyrinth, The 215 

Lachrymal canals 221 

" glands 221 

" lake, The 221 

Lacteals 123, 153 

Lacunse 9 

Lamb. 155 

Larynx '... 73 

Laughing 8i 

Lens, Crystalline.: 220 

Levers 34 

Life by death 120 

Ligaments 10 

Light, The 78 

Lime 143 

Linen 65 

Linguals 77 

Liver 79» 151 

Locked-jaw 43 

Lumbago 44 

Lungs, The 78 

*' Constriction of the 94 

Lymph, The 123 

Lymphatic system 123 

March, Story of Dr 212 

Marrow 9 

Mastication '. 158 

Medulla oblongata 185 

Membrane 55 



PAGE 

Membrane, Mucous 54 

'' Serous 107 

Metacarpal bones 18 

Milk 156 

Milk-teeth 57 

Molars 57 

Mucous membrane 54 

Mumps, The 163 

Muscles of the body 29 

" "eye 33 

" Contractility of 29 

" Number of 29 

" Tendons of 32 

" Voluntary 30 

Muscular sense 39 

Mutton 155 

Nails, The 54 

" In-growing 67 

Near-sight 224 

Nerves, The 183 

" Cranial 185 

" Spinal 184 

" of motion 183 

" of sensation 183 

"■ Sympathetic 187 

Nervous system 177 

Nitrogenous food 141 

Nose, The 214 

OcuLi motores, The 186 

Odors 215 

(Esophagus 147 

Oils, The 142 

Olfactory nerve 215 

Opium 202 

Optic nerve 220 

Organs, Definition of 5 

Organs of circulation 103 

Organs of digestion 145 

" " respiration 73 

" " the voice 73 

Osmose 153 

Ossification , 7 

Otoliths ; 217 



INDEX. 



269 



PAGE 

Oxidation *...... 105, 139 

Oxygen 82 

Palate, The 74 

Pancreas 151 

Pancreatic juice 151 

Papillae 52 

Parotid gland 146 

Patella. The 21, 36 

Pelvis, The 16 

Pepsin 149 

Pericardium 108 

Periosteum 8 

Peristaltic movement 149 

Peritoneum 151 

Perspiration, The 61 

Phalanges 21 

PharytLX 73- 

Phosphorus 143 

Physiology, Definition of Preface 

Pia mater 179 

Pigment 51,220 

Plasma .... 104 

Pleura 78 

Pleurisy 95 

Pneumogastric nerve 187 

Pneumonia 95 

Poisons 244 

Pork 155 

Portal Vein 114, 136, 153 

Potatoes 156 

Processes 13, 36 

Ptyalin 147 

Pulmonary arteries 118 

" veins 118 

Pulse 113 

Pupil 220 

Pylorus 149 

Radius 18 

Rapid eating 158 

Reaction 63 

Reflex action i88 

Respiration 73 

Retina 221 



Rheumatism 43 

Ribs, The 15 

Rickets, The 22 

Russian bath. The 64 

Sacrum, The x6 

St. Vitus's Dance 43 

Saliva, The 146 

Salivary glands 146 

Salt 143 

Scapula 17 

Sclerotic coat 219 

Scrofula 126 

Sea-bathing 64 

Sebaceous glands 60 

Secretion, Definition of . 146 

Semi-lunar valves 112 

Senses, The 211 

of hearing 216 

" " sight 219 

"■ " smell 214 

" " taste 213 

" "touch 211 

Serous membrane 107 

Serum 107 

Shoulder-blade 17 

" -joint 17 

Sick, Care of . . Appendix 

Sick-room " 

Sighing 8t 

Sight, Sense of 219 

Sinew (tendon) 32 

Skeleton, The 5 

Skin, The 49 

Skull, The n 

Sleep 191 

" by medicine 191,204 

Small intestine, The 151 

Smell, Sense of 214 

Sneezing 81 

Snoring 81 

Sound, Theory of 218 

Speech 75 

Spectacles 225 

Spinal column, The 13 



270 



INDEX. 



PAGE 

Spinal cord 183 

" nerves 184 

Spine, The 13 

Spleen 145 

Sprain 23 

Squinting 226 

Stammering 96 

Sternum 15 

Stomacbi 147 

Sugars, The 142 

Sunlight 191 

Sunstroke 242 

Superior vena cava 117 

Sutures 12 

Swallowing, Act of 147 

Sweat 60 

" -glands 60 

Swimming 64 

Sympathetic system 187 

Synovial membrane 10 

Systole 108 

Tactus eruditus 212 

Tartar 59 

Taste, Sense of 213 

Tea 157 

Tears, The 220 

Teeth, The 58 

" Decay of.- 59 

" Preservation of 59 

Temperature of the body 120 

Tendons 32 

Theobromine 158 

Thigh 20 

Thoracic duct 122 

Thorax 15 

Throat 73 

Tibia 21 

Tight-lacing 94 

Tissues, Definition of. 10 

Tobacco 198 

Tongue, The 213 

Tooth-ache, The 241 

Touch, Sense of 211 

Trachea 77 



tAGfi 

Transfusion 106 

Tricuspid valve m 

Trifacial nerve 186 

Tympanum 216 

Trypsm 151 

Ulna, The 18 

Unconscious action of the brain 188 

Urea, Uric Acid 154 S, 

Valves of the heart no I 

" " "• veins 114 f 

Varicose veins 114 j 

Veins, The 114 1 

Velocity of the blood 118 

Vena cava 117 

Ventilation 85 

Ventricles 109 

Vertebrae. 13 

Villi of intestine 153 

Vitreous humor 220 

Vocal cords 75 

Vocalization 76 

Voice, The 75 

Voluntary muscles 30 

Walking 38 

Warts 67 

Washing 62 

Water 143-256 

Wens 68 

Windpipe 76 

Wisdom teeth 58 

Wonders of the brain 192 

,1 u a digestion — 161 

" " "■ heart 121 

" " " muscles 42 

" " " respiration 93 

Woolen 65 

Worms 60 

Wounds 239 

Wrist-joint 18 

Yawning 81 




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